UTSA Alumnus Helps Computer Science Majors Run Toward Success
UTSA computer science alumnus, Joey Mukherjee, ‘95 became interested in the field of computer science at a young age. Recognizing the high-quality education he could receive from UTSA, he joined the university’s computer science program following his high school graduation. Joey recently created an endowed scholarship fund called the Joey Mukherjee Endowed Scholarship for Computer Science Majors Who Don’t Run Good - an homage to a quote from the popular movie Zoolander.
Many may not think computer science and athletics go hand-in-hand, and neither did Joey. To his surprise, he found joy in going for runs after work to improve his focus and keep his body healthy. While he admits to being a slow runner, he has had a great experience participating in the San Antonio running community. Running has given him an opportunity to be part of a supportive group of people.
“I recognized that a career in computer science kind of lends itself to a sedentary lifestyle. I decided to join an exercise program at work and as a requirement we had to sign up for a 5k or 10k. I ended up having so much fun with it, and I hope other computer science majors will find this activity sooner than I did to help with focus and stress as they pursue their degrees,” Joey expressed.
Immediately following his graduation from UTSA, Joey was offered a position at Southwest Research Institute headquartered in San Antonio. At the institute he works primarily in data analysis in space research for notable projects such as building instruments for space crafts like New Horizons, which flew by Pluto in 2015 and Juno, which flew by Jupiter in 2016, among several others. Joey has worked for Southwest Research Institute for the past 26 years and was recently promoted to Staff Computer Scientist.
“I got so much out of UTSA’s computer science program that has propelled and helped me throughout my career.”
Joey has been giving back to UTSA for the last 20 years. Although he was not a first-generation student himself, he recognizes that UTSA has a large number of these students and hopes they are able to have the same opportunities and excellent education he received. When he was approached about creating a scholarship and learned how easy the process was, he immediately jumped at the opportunity to create his own. Joey has not only funded a permanent endowment to fund his scholarship every year in perpetuity but has plans to include a gift to UTSA in his will to provide even more funding for students in the future.
“UTSA was such a positive experience for me, and I hope it is for the recipient of this scholarship as well. I hope that whoever receives the scholarship will go on to pay it forward, and possibly even create their own scholarship after they’ve graduated. I truly believe that paying it forward is so important to support college students,” said Joey
In order to receive Joey’s scholarship, a computer science major must run a 5k with proof that they ran the race. While continuing to run, no matter the pace, Joey has enjoyed learning new computer languages as our digital world continues to rapidly evolve. He hopes to inspire and mentor the recipients of his scholarship throughout their journeys of learning in the computer science field.
-Jordan Allen, Development Writer
