Asa Kusuma (’12) | Information Technology & Computing

by   |  05.18.12  |  Technology

Computer science major
(Annandale, Virginia)

Asa Kusuma has always been interested in computer science. His father, an information technology manager, taught him how to use HTML at the age of 11. In elementary school, his project for the science fair was about information management. His high school, a magnet school that focuses on science and technology, offered computer science courses for each grade level. Asa took one every year.

Since he had attended one of the top high schools in the nation, Asa had plenty of options when it came to choosing a college. He had visited ACU in high school and liked the feel of the campus. He also wanted to experience something new and different.

“I like seeing new things, trying new things,” he said. Abilene was certainly a change from the suburbs of Washington, D.C. The biggest surprise about ACU was that “it’s really windy all the time,” he joked.Asa also appreciated the opportunity to study in a less pressured environment. Although he’d been around “hyper-academia” in high school, he didn’t want to attend a college with the same nerve-racking atmosphere.”I didn’t want to sell my soul to academics,” he said. “Academics are a means to an end and not an end in itself.”That being said, Asa believes his education at ACU is as academically challenging as other universities. He likes the smaller classes and the fact that it’s easy to get personal attention and help from his professors.”I think I’ll get a great education here,” he said.

Medical software and Zotero.org

Asa has already begun to use his education in the workplace. In high school, he interned at two East Coast colleges during the summers. His first internship was at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he helped create medical software that helped doctors and patients connect more effectively. Patients would wear a monitor that took their blood pressure at various times throughout the day and sent the data directly to an online log. Doctors could then look at the log to determine how to more accurately diagnose or treat the patient.

The next summer Asa worked for George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. He helped develop a research tool called Zotero.org. The tool is an extension of the web browser Firefox and allows users to compile a bibliography directly from the online source they’re studying. Users simply hit a button and choose the format they want to generate a citation.

Two internships and a college load

At the moment, Asa is doing two internships for different companies. One internship is with MilSoft of Abilene and the other is with a jewelry company, working on its software system.

When he looks beyond the next three years, Asa thinks he’d like to become a web developer in a company setting. He doesn’t want to join a huge corporation, though – he says he wants a more relaxed environment where he can explore his options and have room to work on problems. He’s not worried about a shrinking job market, either.

“Lots of people need computer services,” he said.

When he looks at the future of technology, Asa sees advances that will make people’s lives easier and increase their capabilities for communication. From electronic blood pressure monitors to instant citations, he is looking at a world that is increasingly dependent on technology. For him, though, advanced technology sums down to one simple answer.

“It’s just another outlet for communication,” he said.

Learn more about the School of Information Technology and Computing at ACU