Avery Newkirk: Building Family and Career with Niner Nation Behind Him

Avery Newkirk knows how to seize an opportunity. He’s made the most of all of the resources available to him at UNC Charlotte and its College of Computing and Informatics, doing all he can to set himself up for a successful start to his technology career. It’s the first step toward building the kind of life he’s always imagined for his biggest inspiration: his son.

“That’s my biggest motivator. He’s definitely my ‘why’ — why I’m pushing so hard to get my degree and a solid career,” Newkirk said, “so I can be a role model and provide a good life for him at the same time.”

A Charlotte native, Newkirk isn’t your average college student. On the cusp of finishing his undergraduate B.S. degree in computer science with a concentration in data science this December, he’s a bit older than most of his fellow seniors at the age of 25. And in addition to his studies, Newkirk also balances helping raise his two-year-old son, born during his time at Central Piedmont Community College prior to becoming a Niner.

While Newkirk has loved being a dad, there’s no denying that the responsibility of helping raise a small child makes pursuing your college education just a tad more tricky.

“I was taking Calculus I and II at the time; I remember the night he was born I was emailing my professors asking ‘Can I get an extension on these assignments please? I’m in the hospital with some important business to attend to!’”

Newkirk’s higher education journey began at CPCC where he pursued his associate’s degree with an eye toward getting a computer science-related bachelor’s degree down the line. He made sure to follow the guidelines of the 49er Next initiative between CPCC and UNC Charlotte, which allowed Central Piedmont students to take classes that would directly transfer and map cleanly to degree path requirements at UNC Charlotte to make sure students can get the most bang for their buck with what courses they take during their time at community college.

While at Central Piedmont, Newkirk began to research tech-focused careers. He liked what he saw: an interesting field where bright minds work together to tackle important problems for organizations large and small, a career where every day is a new puzzle to solve.

He initially considered following CCI’s software engineering concentration path, but after investigating all of the available options he found himself intrigued by the college’s computer science pathway focusing on data science, especially its ties to fascinating tech like machine learning with broad applications toward careers in and around artificial intelligence development.

The breadth of options available to folks with computer science expertise is one of the things Newkirk has appreciated most about his educational path. “When you have a computer science degree, you have a super broad and varied skill set. You have problem solving. You have really good math skills. You know how computers work from the inside and out,” he said.

Upon arriving at UNC Charlotte as a junior two years ago, Newkirk hit the ground running by plugging into as much career-focused programming put on by CCI’s Office of Professional Development and the University’s Center for Career Development as he could while balancing his classwork and raising his infant son. “I was in there literally every other week,” Newkirk said, “getting interview tips, revising my resume, getting information on different events with employers. It’s such a great resource.”

A school-sponsored “career trek” trip to banking powerhouse Truist was one of the events Newkirk eagerly took part in, which laid the groundwork for a tech internship at the bank the summer following his first year as a Niner. He also was invited that summer to be a student preceptor for the computing careers course all CCI students are required to take. When he began that role that fall, he quickly became a trusted confidant to other younger students looking for guidance.

“It was great to be a mentor to my classmates — I could give them some free advice on the school, navigating all the resources, how to handle studying, being away from your family,” he explained. He couldn’t help but smile talking about how excited he was when one student he’d given career prep advice let him know he’d been offered interview opportunities at major tech companies like Microsoft, Salesforce and ServiceNow.

Coming in as a transfer student and joining an established student community isn’t always easy, especially when you have a young son at home you’re spending as much time with as possible. But those factors haven’t stopped Newkirk from getting involved at CCI. He’s joined student orgs including the National Society of Black Engineers and the Association for Computing Machinery, through which he’s taken part in interview prep as well as a recent programming competition that was just as fun as it was educational.

Newkirk is excited for the future. He’s recently accepted a full time position as a technology analyst at Truist, a door he knows was opened through a combination of hard work and the lessons he learned as a student.

When he looks back at this time at UNC Charlotte, he won’t just remember the career prep, the camaraderie or the coursework.

“What’s been most rewarding has been this journey of developing myself — as a man and as a member of society,” Newkirk said, thinking ahead of the teammate, friend and role model he’s striving to become.