Seaford Students See Google HQ Up Close

SEAFORD, NY. — 24 students from Seaford High School computer science courses got firsthand look at where their education could take them this week, as the students traveled to New York City to tour the offices of Google.

Led by Seaford alumni who work at the company, the tech office tour gave students the chance to network with professional programmers and software engineers as well as see the unique work environment that exists at Google. Faculty members on the tour said it helped to take students to such a well-known organization to show them what was possible in computer science.

“Google is very recognizable to current high school students,” computer science
teacher Lauren Thompsen said. “I think it was beneficial to them because there is a very
wide field of career possibilities.”

This was the second year that Seaford students have toured the google offices, a tour Thompsen is motivational for students in the computer science program, which was founded in 2001 and has evolved alongside the field itself.

“What you learn from computer science is interdisciplinary,” Thompsen said. “It
applies to everything. It’s math, science, logic, planning, organization, thinking things
through and trying to figure out where a problem is and fixing it.”

According to Seaford junior Carrie Cassarello, the students saw a presentation from a quartet of Seaford alumni who now work at Google, showing the high schoolers what life is like at the company and how these Seaford graduates use their computer science skills in their day-to-day lives. Among the topics discussed in that presentation, senior Chedesh Shamnarine said, was artificial intelligence, including how it is developed and the potential risks it poses.

“They really made us think about what computer science is,” Chedesh said.

“It was very helpful,” senior Ali Faruqui added, “and it highlighted how computer
science can solve issues and make the world a better place.”

While the Seaford students got to hear valuable insight on the field of computer science on their tour, some of the students were floored by the environment, taking note of the artwork that decorated the Google facility and the transportation options outside the building.

For senior Andrew Nguyen, it was the collaborative work that Google employees practiced that stood out most.

“I didn’t realize how in-depth computer science is terms of how you have to work
with each other and cooperate with each other,” Nguyen said. “I thought that was
very interesting. If they can do it, we can do it.”