For Taylor Wong ’19 (CS), blending a career in cybersecurity with a passion for music isn’t a contradiction — it’s a calling. Now a senior product manager at Microsoft, working on the Customer Experience Engineering Team for Microsoft Threat Protection, Wong lives in Vancouver, Washington, and spends her days navigating complex technical landscapes. But when the workday ends, she steps into a different spotlight: one filled with microphones, melodies and meaning.

When Anthony Shao ’18 first considered his career path, health care was not at the top of his list. As a double-major electrical engineering and finance student, he spent a summer interning with a defense contractor, grateful for the opportunity but struck by a roommate’s blunt question: “Do you realize you’re working in an industry built to harm people?”

The Fall 2025 issue of the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering I3@USD magazine is out. The University of San Diego's mission is rooted in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition — uniting knowledge, ethics and purpose — and this year’s issue captures what that means for our engineering and computing community.

For Zaki Alabdullah ’17 (BA), studying psychology at the University of San Diego laid the foundation for a career that blends research, creativity and storytelling. Now a professional filmmaker, Alabdullah continues to draw on psychological principles to shape authentic characters and narratives.

During her time at the University of San Diego, Jillian Salerno ’24 (BA)  discovered a clear sense of purpose at the intersection of psychology and healthcare. Volunteering at the hospital gave her early exposure to the realities of patient care, experiences she describes as helping her realize “how much I valued being in a helping role.” Additionally, active involvement in the Pre-Nursing Club connected her with peers and mentors who encouraged her to blend her interests. “Several of my psychology professors inspired me to think critically about the relationship between mental and physical health,” she says. These insights now guide her approach as a student in a master’s Entry Nursing Program, where her understanding of the mind–body connection informs the heart of her work.

During her time as a behavioral neuroscience major at the University of San Diego, Katie Eulau ’15 (BA) built the foundation for the research career she is pursuing today as a fifth-year PhD student in developmental psychology.

Join the Department of Sociology at the USD Fall Honors Research Colloquium on December 6th from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to support sociology and political science major, Jennifer Torres Leon as she presents her senior research project, “Surveillance Technology and the Tracking of Immigrants,” guided by her thesis advisor, Associate Professor of Sociology Cid Martinez, PhD.

The Department of Sociology is proud to announce that Professor of Sociology Julia Cantzler, PhD, has been selected as a recipient of the 2025-26 US-UK Fulbright Commission and the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) Global Challenges Teaching Award.