Jody Mustafa once dreamed of seeing the world as a flight attendant 鈥� or traveling the globe as an international actress.
But after an aunt introduced her to coding, the phrase, 鈥淭he sky is the limit,鈥� took on a new meaning.
Watching her first few lines of code come to life on a screen sparked something unexpected. From that moment on, she knew she had found her field.
Today, the 91社区鈥檚 Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing student, who landed a coveted internship at Goldman Sachs, says she鈥檚 grateful that USF helped her find her seat. And she鈥檚 preparing for her career to take off.
Finding her place
Adjusting to college life wasn鈥檛 easy at first. Mustafa remembers walking into her early programming classes and noticing she was one of only a few women in the room. But instead of retreating, she used that feeling as motivation.
鈥淪ometimes you doubt yourself before you even start because you don鈥檛 see many people who look like you,鈥� she said. 鈥淵es, it can be intimidating. But if you stick with it, you realize you鈥檙e capable of so much more than you thought.
鈥淥nce you start learning and connecting with others, it doesn鈥檛 matter who is in the room. You realize you belong there,鈥� she added.
Outside the classroom, she found ways to connect and lead. Though she is not Hispanic, she joined the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, a national organization that supports students in STEM fields and welcomes people of all backgrounds. Mustafa served as lead network relations director for USF鈥檚 chapter, collaborating with members and industry partners on opportunities that promoted diversity and excellence.
She also joined IEEE-CS, a student organization for engineering and computer science majors, and applied to be a resident assistant, a paid leadership position in USF鈥檚 residence halls. She landed the role and now helps students, particularly first-year students, navigate the transition to college life. She organizes study sessions, encourages collaboration and helps others balance the demands of a challenging major.
鈥淚鈥檝e learned that support makes all the difference,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he people you study with today might be the people you work with tomorrow. It鈥檚 rewarding to be that person who helps someone else feel like they belong.鈥�
Computer science is hard!
Mustafa is a disciplined student who was used to earning top grades in demanding courses. While she remains at the top of her class and is a regular on the dean鈥檚 list, she describes her academic journey as both humbling and motivating.
鈥淲hen I got my first C, I remember feeling so disappointed,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n high school, I鈥檇 always done really well, and suddenly, here in college, I was struggling. I realized this program is no joke. Computer science is hard! That grade was the turning point. I decided I wasn鈥檛 going to let one setback define me.鈥�
She sought extra help, studied with peers and learned how to approach problems more analytically.
鈥淚 did go to tutoring offered by USF every day and that helped big time,鈥� she said.
She credits her professors for creating a learning environment that is rigorous but supportive. 鈥淭he professors here really care,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 just give you answers. They make you find them. And that鈥檚 how you grow.鈥�
Her favorite classes are those that make her think deeply about systems and logic.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about passing a test. It鈥檚 about developing the mindset to solve problems that don鈥檛 have clear answers,鈥� she continued. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just memorize things in computer science. You have to understand why they work, how they connect and how to fix them when they don鈥檛.鈥�
That combination of persistence, curiosity and applied learning is exactly what the Bellini College aims to cultivate.
The road to Goldman Sachs
Mustafa鈥檚 mindset and work ethic, along with her willingness to seize opportunity, set the stage for one of her biggest milestones: a summer internship with Goldman Sachs, an investment and financial services firm known the world over.
鈥淚 actually met the recruiters at a national engineering conference,鈥� Mustafa said. 鈥淎t first, I almost didn鈥檛 stop at their booth because I wasn鈥檛 a finance major. But we started talking, and two days later I had an interview.鈥�
She joined the GS Financial and Corporate Services group, where she worked with engineering and operations teams on projects involving data analysis, process automation and risk control.
鈥淚 automated the 鈥楾eam Depth Hub鈥� by integrating Alteryx workflows, SQL and Tableau dashboards, delivering actionable insights to leadership on team skills and capacity,鈥� she said. She also streamlined receivables data lineage by consolidating workflows and improving accuracy and operational efficiency.
鈥淚t was very fast paced,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 learned how to write scripts that made everyday processes more efficient and how to think about security from a business perspective.鈥�
The experience reinforced the lessons she learned at USF.
鈥淓verything we鈥檇 covered in class, from Python and database management to cybersecurity principles 鈥� suddenly mattered in a real-world context,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was amazing to see how it all connects.鈥�
She also found inspiration in the people she met. 鈥淓veryone there was so smart and willing to help,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t pushed me to keep asking questions and to keep learning.鈥�
The journeys ahead
As graduation approaches, Mustafa is focused on continuing to merge her interests in software engineering, data analytics and technical project management.
鈥淭echnology touches everything,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 want to build systems that make life easier and safer for people, and to keep growing in a field that never stops changing.鈥�
She knows it won鈥檛 always be easy, given the pace that technology is advancing, but that鈥檚 part of what she loves about it.
鈥淚 like solving hard problems,鈥� she said. 鈥淓very challenge is another chance to learn something new.鈥�