Graduation feature: Griffith resident lands software developer job after serving internship

Nick Bushby, a candidate to receive a bachelor's degree in computer information systems and information technology at Purdue University Calumet next week, has already accepted a software development job at Applied Systems in University Park, Ill., beginning Jan. 4.

Purdue Calumet Commencement Exercises are scheduled at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 21 at the Radisson Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville.

Bushby, a straight-A student from Griffith, will work on developing software for the insurance industry with some 30 other software developers at Applied Systems.

Bushby explained that in class lab assignments a student typically works on computer programs consisting of about 500 lines of code.

"Where I'm going to work has 4 million lines of code," he said, adding that he won't be working on all of that by himself.

While praising Purdue Calumet's computer information systems and information technology degree programs, Bushby also credits his student internship and campus lab work experience in helping him land his job. He recently completed an internship at Logic Advance of Hammond, where he worked on the company's website and database.

"The program here is hands-on," he said. "You do real world assignments that apply to work, and the internship was my single best opportunity."