Class of 2025: Kyle Fetsko dives into data and finds a future path
In the spring, Fetsko will finish a master's degree in computer science and start a career as a data engineer.
Kyle Fetsko cap and gown photo.
Name: Kyle Fetsko
College: College of Science
Major: Computational modeling and data analytics with a minor in computer science
Hometown: Midlothian, Virginia
Plans after graduation: Finishing a Master of Engineering in computer science and applications and working as a data engineer at the Virginia Office of Data Governance and Analytics
Favorite Hokie memory: His first Virginia Tech football game experience, complete with navigating long lines at downtown Blacksburg establishments and settling for subs at Jimmy John’s after a 45-minute wait at for pizza proved fruitless.
Sage advice
When it came to choosing what university he would attend — and even selecting the major he would pursue — Kyle Fetsko discovered that sometimes “father” really does know best.
As a high school student, Fetsko didn’t really have a strong sense of what path he wanted to follow after graduation, saying, “I just knew I wanted to do something with programming.” His father encouraged him to consider studying data science, specifically pointing to Virginia Tech’s undergraduate program in computational modeling and data analytics.
Fetsko, trusting those instincts, had no objections. He applied to Virginia Tech through the early decision process, and the rest, as they say, is history.
One major, many directions
The curriculum for the Computational Modeling and Data Analytics (CMDA) Program draws from three disciplines in the quantitative sciences: mathematics, statistics, and computer science. What Fetsko appreciates most about the major is that all of the courses — regardless of domain — are tailored to working with data in different ways.
“You have so many different pathways you can go down, and that’s what I really enjoyed about the CMDA major,” said Fetsko. “I could go wherever I wanted, and eventually I landed on a data engineering path.”
Fetsko also discovered that he was legitimately enjoying what he was studying and became inspired by both his coursework and his instructors, particularly Jason Wilson, collegiate assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics.
“When sophomore year of college hit and I was taking CMDA 2005/2006, it’s like something clicked in my brain — like, ‘I kind of enjoy this stuff. This is what I want to be learning about, this is what I want to put my energy into,’” said Fetsko.
He ended up enrolling in the accelerated option of Virginia Tech’s Master of Engineering in computer science and applications, which gave him the opportunity to start earning graduate credits while completing his undergraduate degree. He will finish the master’s degree in Northern Virginia next year, bolstered by both a Boeing Scholarship and Tech Talent Scholarship, essentially covering a full year of tuition.
Initial steps into real-world experience
In 2024, Fetsko worked as a summer intern for the Virginia Office of Data Governance and Analytics, completing basic data engineering tasks. Pleased with his efforts, the staff was eager for Fetsko to return, and he will start a full-time position there as a data engineer in the spring while finishing his master's degree.
“Internships can really help you get used to working in an office environment, along with working with clients,” said Fetsko. “I feel like I now have a better idea of how to talk to clients — what kind of questions I need to ask, what is useful to talk about during meetings — as well as what is expected of me in a work environment.”
Fetsko’s more recent internship experience was a bit different — and a bit farther from home. After doing remote work during the spring semester, Fetsko spent six weeks in Denmark this summer for an internship with the Center for Hybrid Intelligence at Aarhus University. His main tasks included creating a dashboard focused on quantum-related jobs and research and migrating a database being used for a longitudinal study. The latter assignment proved to be particularly beneficial for his fellow interns.
“I migrated [the database] from graph to relational. Relational databases, with tables and rows, are a lot easier to work with than those with nodes and vertices,” said Fetsko. “Interns rarely have exposure to that, so I was able to make it easier for everyone else, even though I had to spend a whole week looking at that data because it was very confusing.”
No one walks the road alone
Fetsko’s computer science skills have come in handy not only for his fellow interns in Denmark, but for his classmates as well. For the past year and a half, he has worked with the CMDA Computing Consultants, a group of students who offer coding assistance to their peers. The team holds drop-in hours for computational modeling and data analytics majors every weeknight during the semester. This fall, Fetsko served as the program’s lead computing consultant.
“There’s something so fun about having someone come in like, ‘I’ve been working on this problem for hours. I’ve been trying to debug this piece of code, I can’t make any leeway on this,’ and I get to help them debug something or understand something that’s taken them forever to understand,” said Fetsko.
“When we can fix that problem together, it’s a really awesome feeling.”
