October 23, 2019
Hemgen's college experience adds up to success
Calie Hemgen presents her research at NCSU in the fall of 2018.
Calie Hemgen exemplifies how an internship can lead to a post-graduation job offer.
This summer, Hemgen completed an internship with Percival Engineering in Columbia, Maryland, a company that specializes in cybersecurity, web services, and embedded engineering. While there, Hemgen mainly completed data analytics and stat work. However, she was able to get experience with app development and coding as well.
She has now accepted a job offer with Percival as a program manager/data analyst.
Hemgen, a math major with a concentration in statistics, will graduate from ECU this December. As a member of the Honors College, she is currently working on her Signature Honors Project thesis for publication.
Calie Hemgen, left, and her mentor, Dr. Scott Curtis, accept an URCA award for their research project on data science and Jamaican rainfall.
“We hope to start applying to publish at the end of the semester,” Hemgen said.
She performed research in the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment with her mentor, Dr. Scott Curtis. The focus was on applying data science to a dense network of precipitation observation in rural Jamaica.
“We’re looking at whether elevation or location has an impact on the rainfall to help the farmers in that area,” she said.
While at ECU, Hemgen was involved in several different clubs and organizations.
“The entire time I was here I’ve been in the service sorority, Gamma Sigma Sigma,” she said. “I was the treasurer last year.”
Hemgen was also a member of Club Running in her first two years at ECU. Over the past two years, she has been a part of the Dean’s Student Leadership Council for Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences. Hemgen has also given back to the ECU community by tutoring in the Math Cave.
Reflecting back on her years at ECU, Hemgen said that some of her favorite experiences were game days. “They’re a lot of fun,” she said. Also, she spoke about how the campus was very inclusive and everything was right there in one area.
Hemgen had some advice to offer incoming students and underclassmen.
“Apply to internships early so you can get the opportunity to see what you like and what you don’t. Apply to as many as possible so you have some options,” she said. “Also, apply for scholarships. They always help.”
For more information on Hemgen’s research, check out REDE’s profile of her.