Dimitrov lands software job through fellowship

Dimo Dimitrov’s 2007 fellowship at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids wasn’t simply preparation for his future. It is his future.

Dimitrov, a native of Bulgaria, is a computer science and mathematics major who, prior to his senior year, had almost no work experience in the field. As the Rockwell Collins Fellow in Commercial Systems Engineering, he was given an opportunity to get both experience and a foot in the door at a major company.

“I was lucky to be able to work for a big company like Rockwell,” he said. “This fellowship showed me how my knowledge and skills acquired at Cornell can be applied in the work environment.”

Dimitrov’s advisor, Professor Tony deLaubenfels, brought the fellowship to his attention after Dimitrov began to realize he wasn’t sure where and how to find an internship in his field.

During his fellowship, Dimitrov worked on a Web application called Skills Assessment Web Tool, which allowed employees and management to rate themselves and their employees on where their strengths and weaknesses lie.

The experience helped Dimitrov determine that not only was he in the right field of work, he wanted to stay at Rockwell.

“On my last day I got an offer for full-time employment as a software engineer,” he said. “I enjoyed my fellowship so much that I decided to continue working for this company.”

Dimitrov said he intends to attend graduate school in the future, once he narrows down his field.