Colt McNealy, technical staff leader at Littlehorse and a distinguished industry expert, addressed computer science students at Temple during a seminar series presented by the Department of Computer and Information Sciences (CIS) and the Temple chapters of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and Association for Computing Machinery-Council on Women in Computing (ACM-W).
Jamie Peyton, professor and CIS department chair, and Claudia Pine-Simon, assistant professor of instruction, welcomed McNealy on behalf of the faculty and student body, emphasizing the importance of industry-academia engagements. Approximately 60 students attended McNealy's engaging presentation, which included a lively question-and-answer session.
Erin Ross, a computer science student and vice president of Temple’s ACM-W chapter, facilitated a meet-and-greet with McNealy, providing students an opportunity for informal interaction before the main event held in the Science Education and Research Center.
Feedback from students highlighted their appreciation for McNealy's practical insights, drawn from his experiences at Littlehorse.dev, a workflow platform that is designed to deliver reliability, best-in-class observability and highly agile apps.
McNealy's talk focused on demystifying the development lifecycle of code, emphasizing the gap between academic education and practical deployment skills. He shared insights on deploying applications and monitoring live systems, using examples from his company to illustrate key concepts.
McNealy's journey from tackling real-world problems at Rex to founding Little Horse provided students with inspiration for their own career paths. His expertise in cloud infrastructure and DevOps resonated with attendees, fostering high-level discussions on complex topics.
Pine-Simon commended McNealy for sparking inspiration among students, encouraging them to explore their potential. She underscored the importance of entrepreneurial spirit, referencing McNealy's success with Littlehorse.dev.
McNealy expressed a preference for engaging with Temple students, affirming his commitment to supporting students' educational and professional growth. His engagement exemplifies the value of industry partnerships in enhancing the student learning experience.
“Colt’s expertise in cloud infrastructure and DevOps was very insightful and inspiring. Everyone in attendance asked great questions,” said Jacob Snarr, a graduating senior majoring in computer science. “Colt said he was impressed to see so many undergrads conversing with him at a high level on these complex topics.”