Lafayette Alumnus Launches Tech Career At Google

Working at Google has been a dream of Posse alumnus JJ Wanda’s since 8th grade. He did not, however, expect to achieve his goal so soon after his graduation from Lafayette College, when he accepted a one-year software engineering residency at the company.

"With support from Posse, I threw my name into the ring," JJ says.

JJ currently works on the core navigation team for the Google Search App for Android phones. He is excited by the reach of his work.

"It’s amazing to work on an app that impacts billions of people’s lives," says JJ. "There are a lot of smart people around me, and I’m loving it."

"With support from Posse, I threw my name into the ring."

As a Scholar at Lafayette, JJ interned twice at Noblis, a Posse Career Program partner and corporate sponsor. There he met Dr. Lydia Thomas, a longstanding Posse D.C. Advisory Board member and former president and CEO of Noblis, who became his career coach.

"Lydia helped me become more career-focused and she celebrated my successes," says JJ. "She was a safety net and, as a result, I took more risks."

JJ credits Posse with helping him develop cooperative skills that are now a professional resource.

"One of the best things Posse does is grab 10 leaders and say, ‘Now you work together,’" he says. "Being in a group of people who are very diverse brought me out of my shell and gave me great communication skills."

Recently, at an internal Google diversity and inclusion conference, JJ brought up the Posse model to colleagues.

"I explained why it was so important to have a support network, to have people you can rely on and connect to," JJ says. "Posse helped me grow as a person and pushed me further than I imagined."