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BRYANT
JULY 2012
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ATHLETICS UPDATE Men’s lacrosse clinches first D-I postseason title
FAMILIES
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INTERNSHIP ZONE RelanvanSi in Buenos Aires
FOR STUDENTS AND
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BEHIND THE BIO Award-winning prof always connected
2012 grad lands a gem of a job
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In high school, Alex Robbin ’12 created the systems for The Leaky Cauldron, the second-most visited Harry Potter fan website. Today, he is a software engineer for Boston-based Brightcove, a global provider of cloud video services.
lex Robbin ’12 knows many languages but none that would come in handy while traveling abroad. He is fluent in web-based programming and frameworks such as Ruby on Rails, RSPec and Cucumber, HTML5 and CSS3, SQL and JavaScript, Ubuntu-Thin and Unicorn, among others – the languages of a self-proclaimed technology geek. Are you a Harry Potter fan? You can thank Robbin for creating the systems for The Leaky Cauldron, the second-most visited Harry Potter fan website. As a senior programmer, he remotely maintained, at minimum, six different web servers to continuously keep all subsections of the website functioning at full capacity 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Robbin worked his magic by developing an administration system that handled everything from polls to blogs to more than 1,200 videos and 250,000 pictures and their appropriate meta information – without any decrease in speed or functionality after more than 65 million views. Oh, and he was in high school at the time.
“I always loved learning how things on the Internet actually functioned – not just the visual part that most people care about but also the actual underbelly of how things got routed around the country and the world,” he says. “I thought the ‘View Source’ button was the coolest thing since sliced bread.”
“My education is a priceless asset.” alex Robbin ’12 danvers, ma Robbin took an introductory design course at a community college when he was 13, learning the basics of HTML in six weeks. Ever since, he has pushed himself to gain knowledge of new languages, frameworks, server maintenance, and setup. At 15, he built a basic website for the law firm of a friend’s mother. From 2009 to 2011, he worked for a company called HealthTalker, building out community-based applications
(L-R) Alex Robbin; John Noe, creative director, The Leaky Cauldron; and J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter fantasy series, at Carnegie Hall in 2007.
for pharmaceutical companies such as Genzyme, Merck, and Alkermes. He also completed an internship there as part of his Entrepreneurship major. Shortly after graduation in May, Robbin started a job as a software engineer with Brightcove, a global provider of cloud video services. The Boston-based company is the second-largest video provider on the Web, surpassed only by YouTube. Robbin specializes in Ruby on continued on page 8
Senior is honored for her efforts surrounding child welfare and HIV/AIDS issues
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ocina Dalzell ’13 (Brooklyn, NY) has been named a Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact. The Sociology and Service Learning major is one of 162 college students from across the United States to be selected for their achievements in finding solutions to community problems. “I am humbled and honored to receive an award of such distinction and to be among a cohort of other motivated students,” says Dalzell. Her involvement in the community started years ago in church. “Through different ministries, I helped pray for the sick and shut in, fed the hungry, and lent an ear and hand
Rocina Dalzell ’13
to those in need,” she says. “At the time, I did not realize the impact this had in the lives of others.” The award cites her policy-level work, education, and advocacy. At age 14, Dalzell began working with the Youth Justice Board in New York City, helping to create 14 specific policy recommendations to reform New York City’s Family Court Permanency Planning Process in order to improve the outcome and experiences of youth in foster care. She is co-director of WE SPEAK Alumni at the Young Women of Color HIV/AIDS Coalition; president of the Fellowship of the Unashamed, a Christian organiza-
tion on campus; and vice president of the University’s Alliance for Women’s Awareness. Dalzell hopes to pursue a career as a Family Court judge. “The family unit is a very important aspect in one’s life. It’s where children develop their values,” she says. As a judge, Dalzell hopes to shape policies and programs that will help people reach their highest potential.
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