For the Love of Code

Benjamin Fuoco always loved to code, which is why he chose to study computer science at New York Tech. “It allows the mind to problem solve and sort through various methods when troubleshooting,” he says. “Also, I love writing code for innovation. It allows the code I write to have an actual purpose and benefit others.”

Fuoco is one of seven students working on building prototypes for NASA at the Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center (ETIC) on the Long Island campus. He is using Python code to control stepper motors within a medical vest that will be used for rehabilitation and physical therapy for people who have arm and shoulder injuries.

“The movements I will program will be used to control the medical vest, making the arms move at specific angles, or [make] small movements,” he says. “I am proud of this project as I feel that the concepts I learned in the classroom are being used for real-life applications.”

As a student at New York Tech, Fuoco is gaining the hands-on experience he needs to help him post-graduation. “Larger universities with classes of 70 to 80 students don’t allow the professor to really connect with the students,” he says. “However, at New York Tech, I feel I am able to connect with my professors and really grasp the understanding of my studies. The courses have a vast depth to them and give the student a broad range of knowledge.” He says that working in the ETIC has accelerated his growth by working with clients such as NASA as well as helping him learn more about programming languages and hardware.

Fuoco chose New York Tech because of the small school atmosphere. “The small class environment helps students engage with the class and allows a student to get help from a professor if needed. This wouldn’t be possible in a large school with 70 to 80 students in a class,” he says. An added advantage for Fuoco is building long-lasting friendships with fellow students who are in the same program. “[You] stick with those friends until graduation as you have similar classes,” he says.

While in his spare time, this budding software developer loves to work on cars and explore the inner workings of car engines, his dream job would be to write code for Apple. And he believes that his New York Tech degree will help him achieve his goal.

In the meantime, he continues to work hard in the classroom and offers this advice to incoming students: “Don’t be afraid of the inevitable or failure. As humans, we are not perfect in any shape or form. If you do badly on an assignment or exam, don’t stress it, try harder on the next one, and learn from your mistakes as you are your best teacher.