By Natalie Mowbray, ’22

Staff Writer

The second installment of the STEM Speaker Series, launched this fall by HHS senior Isma Saleem, focused on careers in technology and computer science. The “in-school field trip,” which took place Nov. 19, featured Matt Mastrangelo, Brian Converse and Jim Calabro.

All students at HHS should be familiar with the Aspen X2 Portal used for posting grades, attendance, and other important academic information. Matt Mastrangelo is a founder and creator of Aspen, used by countless schools around the country. Previously, he studied computer science at Northeastern University and started off as an education technology consultant. In addition to creating Aspen X2, Mr. Mastrangelo is a cofounder of Halix.io, a technology platform that helps businesses build websites, process payments and more.

Brian Converse is a software developer who creates technology to assist Hanover Schools students, parents and staff in a variety of tasks. When parents sign up for teacher conferences, for example, they’re using a program built by Mr. Converse. He earned an applied mathematics degree from SUNY Polytech Institute.

The final speaker was senior software engineer Jim Calabro. He works in the booming field of computer science at Cogo Labs in Braintree. He got his degree in computer science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was a part of the marching band there.

Isma began working with administration last year to bring in these monthly speakers, who she hopes will “give students the opportunity to find their passion.”  While it can be difficult to find speakers at times, she said, she is glad that students can be introduced to unique professionals within multiple industries. In September, students heard from health care professionals. Next up, likely in January, will be careers geared toward helping people recover from injuries or illness, such as a pharmacist, nutritionist, physical therapist and sports medicine specialist. 

Featured image from https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/can-studying-mathematics-and-computer-science-be-as-creative-as-the-arts/93425/