Co-op experiences: Vanessa Bellotti, E25

Vanessa Bellotti, E25
Undergraduate major: Computer science
Current: Rising Tufts senior
Co-op Placement: Nvidia (spring 2024), working remotely as a technical marketing engineer intern on AI workflows.
What I Learned: “My co-op opened up an opportunity to explore a new areas of interest and allowed me to leverage my technical background. For example, although I have experience with building out machine learning workflows, I had not worked with retrieval-augmented generation, or RAG, a technique for enhancing AI accuracy and reliability. RAG can allow users to ask chatbots about information stored in PDFs, images, audio, and more, not just information stored in text sources. Through the co-op, I became quite practiced with the technique and was able to give a talk at Nvidia GTC, the global AI conference. Another major takeaway was learning from colleagues who have a lot of insight and experience, which gave me perspective on my next steps, such as graduate school.”
My Advice: “My top tips would be to listen to and seek out mentors, even ones with whom you are not necessarily working closely, to take notes in meetings, and to be engaged with the bigger picture. To stay engaged when working remotely requires a lot of intentionality. For example, be proactive about setting up meetings with colleagues to stay in touch. I also recommend asking team members if they can introduce you to people outside of your direct team to learn more about your areas of interest.”
The Co-Op Advantage: “To work alongside such a great team for a longer time period than an internship gave me great insight into the culture and community at Nvidia. It also was an opportunity to balance theoretical knowledge with hands-on learning about new technologies, which, especially in my field, are evolving constantly. I also was drawn to the sheer scale of projects that drive an enterprise environment. By applying AI technologies in real-world scenarios, I came back to Tufts with invaluable insights and skills important to a future career.”

Employers looking for more information on the co-op programs at the School of Engineering can contact Sue Atkins, associate director of Employer Relations, Tufts Career Center.