UC San Diego Engineering Student Wins First Place Overall at Target Team Hackathon

August 18-20, 2016, Target hosted a three-day Diversity Leadership Symposium, inviting undergraduate students across the nation to collaborate and devise strategies to address diversity and inclusion in the retail industry. Tony Melano-Gonzales, a transfer student and senior computer science major at UC San Diego, was invited to apply after a recruiter saw his profile on Piazza.

Gonzales learned about engineering careers in merchandising as well as advancements in finance and technology. In addition to panels, networking sessions, and workshops, he participated in Target’s case study hackathon and won first place with his team of four.

Target’s hackathon challenged competitors to develop an application that engages guests both inside and outside the store. The teams had to complete their hack within a three-hour time frame. In particular, the participants were to focus on the millennial market, including styling and baby products.

Gonzales and his teammates created Wishbone, a native Facebook chatbot that transforms ordinary situations into consumer products.

Gonzales explains, “Sometimes you go to Target and you know exactly what you want - shoes, Advil, a new backpack - but other times, you just want to stop by on the way to the beach, the movies, etc. With Wishbone, users can ask ‘What do I need for the beach?’ or say ‘I'm throwing a baby shower’ and the application connects them with real relevant products.”

Users may browse the recommended list, add their desired products to their cart, and check out on Target’s website — all with the chatbot Wishbone.

The first-place application garnered Gonzales $2000 in rewards to continue his journey here at the Jacobs School of Engineering. Many congratulations to Gonzales!

When Facebook and Pinterest are both on campus to recruit students

Computer science alumna Brina Lee interviews UC San Diego students during a Facebook recruiting event.

A line of students sneaked around the lobby of the Computer Science and Engineering building Oct. 16, waiting to talk to Facebook recruiters and employees--including our very own alum, Brina Lee, the first female engineer to work at Instagram after it was purchased by Facebook.
Freshmen Nancy Ponce and Maya Bello stood patiently in line, talking with other students. "We're hoping to get a summer internship to get more experience," said Ponce, a computer engineering major who is from San Diego. She hoped the internship would help her figure out whether to she wants to switch to computer science. Ponce said she already felt comfortable around campus after attending the 5-week Summer Program for Incoming Students organized by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.
"It's always good to put yourself out there," said Bello, a computer science major from Oakland. She chose to come to UC San Diego because of its great computer science program--and because of the weather, she said.
Even if they didn't get an internship, this would be good practice, they both agreed.
Lee took a break from interviewing students to say that she had seen great candidates. So far, she wanted to interview them all, she said. "A lot of them are industry-focused," she said. "Which is great."
Some of the students peeled away from the Facebook line to attend a presentation by Pinterest right next door. The company handles a total of more than 20 terabytes of data and fields 110,000 requests a second. It's looking for engineers to help it grow. The event was organized by the UC San Diego chapter of Women in Computing. Everyone got pizza--and a Pinterest-labeled Mason jar.

Maya Bello, left, talks with a fellow student.