Astrid Mangual ’18, M’20, landed a job at Cigna in its Technology Early Career Development Program (TECDP) as a TECDP senior analyst-full stack engineer after completing graduate school at the University of Hartford
Mangual started at UHart in 2014 to pursue her bachelor’s in computer engineering. Not only did UHart have the area of engineering she was most interested in, but it also had a volleyball team, and she was recruited as a student-athlete to play volleyball for the University.
She was inspired to attend UHart because of the people students get to meet and the level of diversity on campus, from students to professors. “My experience at UHart was nothing short of amazing. There are a lot of professors, in particular, who can help you and want to see you succeed,” she says. Mangual credits much of her success to professor Ladimer Nagurney, who retired in June. She worked closely with him as her advisor and built a great relationship with him, and they still stay in touch to this day.
After completing her undergraduate degree, Mangual stayed at UHart and enrolled in the E2M program at UHart to pursue two master's degrees—one in electrical and computer engineering and another in business administration. This partnership between the Barney School of Business and the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA) provides a broader focus for engineers moving into management and leadership tracks. She felt her undergraduate program prepared her well for her graduate program. “I took many coding classes as part of the computer engineering undergraduate program. This helped open up my knowledge and skills to be able to work with anything related to software and expand my problem-solving and critical thinking while in my graduate program.”
Astrid Mangual ’18, M’20I chose the dual degree Master’s of Business Administration and Master’s of Engineering program to give myself a competitive edge in the most efficient way. The program has sharpened my technical expertise, enhanced my critical thinking, and strengthened my managerial skills. There is truly no better investment than furthering your education at UHart while continuing to gain challenging work experience.
While she was a graduate student, Mangual also worked as a part-time faculty member for CETA. Courses she taught included Digital Laboratory, Sensors and Data Acquisition, and Circuits Laboratory. She says the experience was great and made her see just how much she enjoys teaching.
When asked what advice she would share with incoming students, Mangual says to “keep going and know that the sky is the limit.” She also encourages current students to consider continuing their education at UHart because of the number of opportunities offered through graduate programs. In CETA alone, the 4+1 program offers students the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s of science and a master’s of engineering in just five years.