Allison Miller’s roots are deeply embedded in Vermont. Her experience as a homeschool student helped influence her decision to stay in Vermont when it was time to choose a college. It was an interest in computer science that first drew her to Vermont Tech. And while falling in love with the school felt natural, Allison soon began having doubts about her choice of major.
The Information Technology track wasn’t providing the web development training she had been seeking. One of her professors took notice and suggested she switch to the new bachelor degree program in Software Engineering.
“This is the beauty of small classes and close relationships with professors,” says Allison. She is proud to count herself among the program’s first seven graduates, and refers to her senior project — a website that organizes accreditation data — as her “baby.”
Campus life at Vermont Tech gave Allison a satisfying enough social life. (“I don’t have a typical software personality,” she says. “I’m chatty!”) But even more importantly, the school’s Career Services department helped open doors in the workforce. She served an internship while still enrolled, and was hired immediately after graduation by a company located in the state she has always wanted to call home.
Even after that firm closed, Allison was confident she could find another Vermont-based company with values in line with her own. “I always got a positive response from employers when they saw Vermont Tech on my resume,” recalls Allison. She likes that her current job values the same open, hands-on culture she grew to appreciate in college. It’s even small enough that she works in the same room as the CEO!
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