The 2018 Summer Associate program includes more than 100 individuals across several UPMC departments and functions. This year, UPMC Enterprises has nearly 20 of those participants, working on everything from Software Engineering and Product Management to Artificial Intelligence, Human Resources, and more.
This year’s class of Summer Associates will be asked to support our mission by solving real problems as part of their assigned teams. For HR, that will include supporting ways to improve our onboarding process. Our software engineering team will be integrated into our product developer team focused on AI, Natural Language Processing (NLP) technologies, and learn best practices and principles for software development. The product manager team will focus on investigating competitive landscape, financial value models, product road maps, and business model developments for both clinical decision support tools and solutions focused on social determinants of health.
Follow along below to get to know our 2018 Summer Associates and find out which three are a twin, who met “the Fonz,” and who’s been called Tobey Maguire’s doppelganger.
Be sure to also check back for updates and information on this year’s class throughout the summer.
Software Engineering
Colton Blake
- Undergraduate Education: University of Pittsburgh
- One Interesting Fact about Myself: I’ve met “the Fonz,” Henry Winkler.
- What I am most looking forward to at UPMC is…Getting to know and work with the team, gaining valuable industry experience, and being a part of projects that could help improve lives!
Kyle Buettner
- Undergraduate Education: University of Pittsburgh
- One Interesting Fact about Myself: I have an identical twin brother who may come in to work for me when I am not feeling well (just kidding…).
- What I am most looking forward to at UPMC is…Seeing how the newest technology can benefit health care.
Marcus Dubreuil
- Undergraduate Education: University of Pittsburgh
- One Interesting Fact about Myself: I aspire to have two focuses in life, computer science and music. I love creating software and I love creating music. My goal is to live a life full of both experiences.
- What I am most looking forward to at UPMC is…Learning and being a part of the entire software development experience and cycle. Making software that will help others.
Jonathan Dyer
- Undergraduate Education: University of Pittsburgh
- One Interesting Fact about Myself: I grew up on a potato farm in Idaho (the stereotype is true). How I ended up in CS and Mathematics, we may never know.
- What I am most looking forward to at UPMC is…Interacting with the brilliant team here. There is a veritable surfeit of talent (and personality!) at UPMC Enterprises and I can’t wait to immerse myself in it.
Eric Ghildyal
- Undergraduate Education: University of Pittsburgh
- One Interesting Fact about Myself: I speak French fluently.
- What I am most looking forward to at UPMC is…Learning how to develop good health care applications.
Jared Grace
- Undergraduate Education: Grove City College
- One Interesting Fact about Myself: I used to live in Iceland.
- What I am most looking forward to at UPMC is…Bring your dog to work days.
Michael Hoesch
- Undergraduate Education: University of Pittsburgh
- One Interesting Fact about Myself: I am a twin!
- What I am most looking forward to at UPMC is…Learning how technology can improve human health.
Valerie Kristofic
- Undergraduate Education: University of Pittsburgh
- One Interesting Fact about Myself: I played fastpitch softball competitively for 10 years.
- What I am most looking forward to at UPMC is…Learning new technical skills, making new friends, and building my network.
Wyatt Lansford
- Undergraduate Education: Virginia Tech
- One Interesting Fact about Myself: I’ve been told I look like Tobey Maguire.
- What I am most looking forward to at UPMC is…Learning how industry software development works and exploring Pittsburgh.
Hannah Morrison
- Undergraduate Education: North Carolina State University
- One Interesting Fact about Myself: I love video games. My favorites are Transistor, Hellblade, and Overwatch.
- What I am most looking forward to at UPMC is…Gaining software development experience.
Eric Olechovski
- Undergraduate Education: Indiana University of Pennsylvania
- One Interesting Fact about Myself: I am 6’5’’, and no I don’t play basketball.
- What I am most looking forward to at UPMC is…To meet fresh faces and have a chance to work with amazing people. In addition, to experience and push my limits to learn as much as I can while I can.
Michael Parker
- Undergraduate Education: The Pennsylvania State University – University Park
- One Interesting Fact about Myself: I’ve never broken a bone in my body (knock on wood).
- What I am most looking forward to at UPMC is…Getting real world experience in my field, as well as getting to know my coworkers and fellow Summer Associates and building relationships with them.
Michael Postava
- Undergraduate Education: The Pennsylvania State University
- One Interesting Fact about Myself: I was once retweeted by JuJu Smith-Schuster for holding up his jersey in the middle of a riot in downtown State College after the Eagles won the Super Bowl.
- What I am most looking forward to at UPMC is…Working in a team to build software that can impact the lives of others.
David Rocker
- Undergraduate Education: University of Pittsburgh
- One Interesting Fact about Myself: I used to be on a top 3 team for Battlefield 3 on the Xbox.
- What I am most looking forward to at UPMC is…The opportunity to help people in need get more easily available access to their care.
Product Management
Randall Dye
- Graduate Education: Tepper School of Business at CMU
- One Interesting Fact about Myself: Born and raised on a beef farm.
- What I am most looking forward to at UPMC is…Helping to change the future of healthcare.
Katherine Robertshaw
- Graduate Education: University of Pittsburgh
- One Interesting Fact about Myself: I have an identical twin.
- What I am most looking forward to at UPMC is…Contributing to IT platforms that support lifesaving medicine.
Artificial Intelligence
Mo Li
- Graduate Education: Carnegie Mellon University
- One Interesting Fact about Myself: Laugh easily. Like singing and singing well (above average haha).
- What I am most looking forward to at UPMC is…Of course the projects, also excited to meet new people on the team!
Marketing
Jessica Cook
- Undergraduate Education: John Carroll University
- One Interesting Fact about Myself: I am related to Pocahontas!
- What I am most looking forward to at UPMC is…I am looking forward to gaining valuable marketing and event planning experience and meeting new people along the way!
Finance
Gordon Wissinger
- Undergraduate Education: Carnegie Mellon University
- One Interesting Fact about Myself: I have an identical twin brother who also attends Carnegie Mellon University.
- What I am most looking forward to at UPMC is…Being able to work in a capacity that combines both my major and minor as well as my personal interests.
Human Resources
Philip Petrina
- Undergraduate Education: Dickinson College Economics
- One Interesting Fact about Myself: I love to cut grass. In the summers I go around my neighborhood and help everyone mow their lawns!
- What I am most looking forward to at UPMC is…I am looking forward to meeting many new people and branching out this summer in a city that is new to me!
