{"id":206905,"date":"2026-04-16T13:33:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T17:33:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/school-of-computing\/?p=206905"},"modified":"2026-04-16T13:33:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T17:33:42","slug":"following-her-own-code-a-journey-in-computer-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/school-of-computing\/2026\/04\/16\/following-her-own-code-a-journey-in-computer-science\/","title":{"rendered":"Following Her Own Code: A Journey in Computer Science"},"content":{"rendered":"

The visit, organized as part of an opportunity for Computer Science Students at ÌÇÐÄvlog, allowed her to see firsthand how computer science operates at the core of the financial system. As she walked across the NYSE floor, she quickly realized it would not function without software engineers.<\/p>\n

The exchange wouldn\u2019t work without them. Losing time means losing money.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What surprised her most was learning that software engineers in finance are not constantly building flashy new programs. Instead, much of their responsibility involves maintaining and improving existing systems. They must understand multiple programming languages and ensure that critical infrastructure runs efficiently and without interruption. For Paola, this shifted her perspective entirely.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t always need to create new things. Sometimes you restore old things and make them more efficient.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

Before this experience, she had never seriously considered the finance side of technology. Though she admits feeling nervous about stepping into a new space, the trip expanded her career aspirations. She was especially interested in the engineers\u2019 daily routines, what languages they use, what problems they solve, and how their roles sustain such a high-stakes environment.<\/p>\n

The experience also reinforced a notion she strongly believes, networking matters. \u201cIt\u2019s not what you know, it\u2019s who you know,\u201d<\/strong> she says, emphasizing the importance of building relationships with classmates, professors, and professionals who share similar interests.<\/p>\n

That openness to opportunity reflects Paola\u2019s broader academic journey. As she prepares to graduate with her bachelor\u2019s degree in Computer Science from ÌÇÐÄvlog, she looks back on a path defined by persistence, courage, and a fundamental belief that knowledge is power.<\/p>\n

She also emphasizes something she believes is critical in technical fields, \u201cDefinitely ask for help,\u201d she says. \u201cEven if people don\u2019t look like you.\u201d<\/strong> In a field where women are still underrepresented, she is acutely aware of the disparity, and motivated by it.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\n
\"Paola<\/a>
<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Paola<\/a>
<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Paola<\/a>
<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

I would like to be the change-maker. I hope to be a trailblazer.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Her courage stems from her upbringing. Paola\u2019s family came to the United States from Colombia, and built their life from the ground up. She understands the feelings of not belonging, but instead of shrinking in those moments, she leaned in,<\/p>\n

Anything I\u2019ve wanted to do, I\u2019ve done<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For Paola, the message is clear: Stay curious, build connections, keep trying, and above all, remember that knowledge is power.<\/p>\n

\"NYSE<\/a>
The NYSE Trading Floor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Paola Benavides Pena stepped onto the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), she wasn\u2019t just observing the fast-paced world of finance, she was discovering a new vision for her future<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":206906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-206905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-students"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/school-of-computing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/school-of-computing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/school-of-computing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/school-of-computing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/school-of-computing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206905"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/school-of-computing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":206924,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/school-of-computing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206905\/revisions\/206924"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/school-of-computing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/school-of-computing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/school-of-computing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/school-of-computing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}