FIU buzz ignites career path for Engineering senior

The first time Mark-Anthony Delva stepped foot on the Florida International University campus, his group of fellow high schoolers and guidance counselors got lost. It was one of the best mistakes that could have happened, he admits.

“We explored every corner of the campus. I loved it,” Delva says. “It was like a buzz of electricity. As we walked through GC, seeing students everywhere, hearing conversations, I felt an immediate sense of community. That stood out to me because at other schools I visited, it felt quiet and disconnected, but here I felt like I could belong. I felt like this was already home.”

Today, as Delva prepares to finish his senior year at FIU, he is leaving behind his own unique energy and impact. While pursuing his computer science degree in the College of Engineering and Computing, Delva hasn’t just studied algorithms and code. He’s curated a rich tapestry of experiences through campus organizations and internships that have molded him into a career-ready professional.

“I can’t give credit to just one event or group,” he says. “My coursework gave me valuable skills and organizations like INIT, the National Society of Black Engineers, the FIU Tech Talent Academy and Break Through Tech gave me hands-on experience and made me part of a community that wanted to see everyone succeed.”

Even as a youngster, the Palm Beach County native knew that he would do something with computers when he grew up. He became the family’s go-to person for everything IT, helping solve computer problems and showing his Haitian grandmother how to navigate her iPhone. “I got the job, but I worked for free,” he says with a laugh.

After graduating from high school in 2022, Delva attended Palm Beach State College, but his desire to delve deeper into computer science motivated him to transfer to FIU the following year.

As a newcomer on campus, he was Initially shy and kept to himself. Soon he realized that to make the most of his college career, he’d need to go outside of his bubble. “I told myself I would sign up for things and go to meetings,” he says.

Through projects with Tech Talent Academy and CodePath, Delva learned everything from technical skills to much-needed softer skills.

“The soft skills in computer science can be overlooked,” he says. “Learning to communicate with a team, report to a project manager and understand and embrace others’ ideas is critical. CodePath also helped with interviews, breaking down a problem into digestible sizes.”

Among the many valuable learning opportunities for Delva was an internship with the Army Educational Outreach Program, which provides hands-on STEM research positions to undergraduate students.

“I got to work with a really big team that was looking for ways to analyze social media behavior to combat the bystander affect,” he said. The bystander effect is the phenomenon where people are less likely to help someone in need — or report the potential of a problem — if they believe someone else will take action.

The project hit close to home because Delva was in high school at the time of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy, when a lone gunman killed 17 students and staff in a mass shooting.

“I went to a different school, but everyone knew someone from there. I wanted to work on something that might help prevent tragedies like this from happening again.”

Delva’s work in the AEOP internship contributed to building a model to help identify and flag unusual social media content that could point to potential problems.

What distinguishes Delva goes beyond the solid work skills he developed in the classroom, says Anthony Zaatar, part of the ABC Fitness Insights Team, where Delva interned. This team leverages data to provide club operators with insights for decision-making and improving member experiences. 

“Mark-Anthony’s ambition and drive set him apart from the start,” Zaatar says. “In his role as a software engineer intern, he excelled quickly, learning, adapting and seeking out knowledge well beyond what was required. That constant curiosity and dedication to self-improvement will continue to make him stand out and excel in any environment.”

Delva has also enjoyed helping other FIU students by performing resume reviews and encouraging them to seek out ways to become involved in the organizations most meaningful to them.

His goal for the remainder of his senior year is to learn as much as possible before searching for a job as a software engineer.

“I love exploring different avenues, and FIU has given me the ability to do that. I plan to come back to school to earn my master’s degree in machine learning and AI in order to pursue a career as a machine learning engineer.”