Student Spotlight: Bryan Souice

Bryan Souice enrolled in El Camino College right after graduating from high school, sure in his decision, even though he always thought he would start his freshman year at a university. But after watching the success stories of family and friends at El Camino, Souice saw many advantages to following their lead. His brother (and main role model) was especially influential in his decision to attend El Camino.

“I found help with my classwork, opportunities to learn about different careers and industries, financial assistance, and I was lucky enough to actually work in a program partnering with Microsoft, which led to my current job,” said Souice, who is a Microsoft software engineer, a position he started right after graduating from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2022.

A summer internship at Microsoft launched his career, an opportunity presented to him by El Camino’s highly successful MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement) Program. Through MESA, Souice was able to get real work experience while meeting with industry professionals and students from universities such as MIT and CalTech. During the internship, he immediately felt prepared for the work and was ready to contribute alongside his peers.

“Being a part of MESA and working with Director Arturo Hernandez and professor Edwin Ambrosio changed everything for me,” Souice said. “I was able to get an image of what a career in engineering would be like. They made me believe it was possible. Also, something I really appreciated at El Camino was the MESA Center. Coming out from physics class, it was always nice to have someplace to relax and have people to talk to.”

Souice continues to work with El Camino College and MESA, sharing his success story with current students.

“I tell people all the time that El Camino is the best place to get started,” he said. “When you’re just starting out, it’s really exciting to learn that there are so many different things you can do – it can be overwhelming. My best advice is to find what truly interests you and know that you can really enjoy what you do every day. El Camino does a very good job of preparing you for everything. When you transfer and things are getting hard, you have a solid background, so you are capable and confident enough to get the work done. The work ethic I learned at El Camino will always stay with me.”