From Remote Learning to Success at USD

Like all college-aged students in 2020, Cristian St. Clair’s academic journey at the University of San Diego (USD) began in isolation. As the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered campuses nationwide, St. Clair found himself starting his first year from the confines of his childhood bedroom in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

“I’ve basically spent my whole life here,” St. Clair says of his Colorado Springs upbringing. “[By 2020] I hadn’t been very far outside of the Colorado Springs bubble.”



That bubble, however, was destined to burst. As St. Clair recounts his journey from suburban Colorado to the sun-soaked campus of USD, it becomes clear that his story is a coming-of-age tale for the post-pandemic era.


In those early days of remote learning, sparks of St. Clair’s innate curiosity and drive were evident. One of the first classes he was exposed to was an introductory engineering course, complete with mailed kits for at-home projects to spark innovation.

“I have a video of myself playing with these lights on a breadboard,” he recalls, laughing. “I remember thinking, ‘Look at this cool project I just made from the comfort of my bed!’”

It was a small taste of hands-on learning that left St. Clair hungry for more. As pandemic restrictions eased, he made the bold decision to step out of the Colorado Springs bubble and pause his studies at USD to attend the Disney College Program in Orlando, Florida in 2022.

“I had never been to Disney World prior to being accepted into the program,” St. Clair says. For the next eight months, he found himself donning a park uniform and working as a bartender in Italy in Epcot’s World Showcase. “It was probably one of the most fun things I’ve ever done,” he says as he describes concocting limoncello spritzers and bantering with guests from around the globe.



St. Clair’s Disney adventure proved transformative. “It was one of the most valuable things I’ve done outside of my academic development,” he reflects. “I met some of my best friends there. It was also all about building connections and being able to interact with other people.”



After completing the Disney College Program, St. Clair returned to USD to continue his studies, this time fully on campus and ready to embrace the campus experience he missed out on in 2020. He joined the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), an organization that has proved pivotal in shaping his professional trajectory.



“Even though NSBE has an engineering focus, we’re open to everybody from any discipline. The goal is to foster a community of students, host fun events and help students prepare for jobs and internships.”



It was through NSBE that St. Clair secured his first internship — outside of the Disney College Program — with USAA as a software engineering intern in Dallas, Texas. The experience further ignited his passion for coding and steered him toward computer science.

As he worked through his internship with USAA, he began laying the foundation for his next opportunity. “In the computer science field, they start recruiting for internships extremely early,” St. Clair explains. “I had a spreadsheet to keep track of all internships and different companies I applied to.”



His organization paid off. St. Clair landed a coveted internship with Capital One for the summer of 2024. The application process was thorough - a four-hour interview gauntlet that tested not only his coding abilities, but his communication and problem-solving skills.

“I went through that process while I was studying abroad,” St. Clair says. “I was in Ireland and knew I needed an internship, so I put in the work to make sure I set up the meetings at the right times.”


St. Clair’s internship at Capital One culminated in a full-time job offer, set to begin next summer after graduation. “I’m super happy with how it ended,” he says of his internship, with a mix of gratitude and anticipation.



As he prepares to enter the corporate world, St. Clair carries the lessons learned from bartending at Disney World, the networking opportunities through NSBE and the independence and courage gained from his study abroad adventures. It’s a blend of experiences that promises to serve him well in the years to come.

– Kelsey Grey ‘15 (BA)