“Because having excellence in effort means that everything I do is to glorify God, I didn’t want to take shortcuts,” admitted Thomas. “It was important to me that I always do my very best, and sometimes that means working extra hours on an assignment to ensure it was the best that I could do.”
What do you want to be when you grow up? For Joshua Thomas, who will graduate in May from Cedarville University, his answer was an engineer.
His dream will become a reality on August 12, 2024, when he begins his career as a software engineer at Google.
Thomas, from Flint, Michigan, grew up in a home where he was surrounded by science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), as his parents worked in these fields. As a child, his free time often involved robotics and learning how to build new things, and these experiences and his love of technology and programming led him to study computer science at Cedarville.
As a freshman, Thomas received the Amazon Future Engineer scholarship, which gave him the financial support to pursue his education and lifelong dream. He also received an engineering internship at Amazon. Having experienced the benefits of this high-level internship, Thomas added an internship one year later in New York City as a software development engineer with Amazon and prior to his senior year, he was selected for a software engineering internship with Google. These experiences allowed Thomas to see the impact that this field has on the world of technology.
“When someone opens their phone, they use programs that I have developed in my time at Amazon and Google,” recalled Thomas, “and to have that impact as a Christian makes the hard work worth it.”
This impact is shown both in the work that he does and in the conversations he has with other engineers.
“I have the unique opportunity to share my faith with co-workers who value logic and reason,” said Thomas. “They can see in my work that I am logical and that my faith does not serve as a contradiction. This leads to conversations that can have eternal impact.”
Thomas believes he can make an immediate impact because of his work ethic that was cultivated at Cedarville. Throughout his education, he recognized ways to use shortcuts to complete rigorous assignments, but he opted to reject those methods because he believed they would not serve him well in his career.
Cedarville’s cyber operations and computer science programs are designed to stretch a student in learning and professional development, something that resonated with Thomas.
“Cedarville’s computer science and cyber operations program is demanding. We stretch our students so that they can grow their skills and their dependence on God,” said Dr. Seth Hamman, director of the Center for the Advancement of Cybersecurity and professor of cyber operations and computer science. “We challenge them to invest their talents to reach their potential and, ultimately, to advance God's kingdom.”
Thomas has taken this mission to heart.
Now, with graduation approaching, Thomas is finishing his coursework and preparing to return to Google for his full-time position as a software engineer in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He will be working on some of Google’s keystone programs, including Google Chrome and Google Play.
As Thomas looks forward to a career that most engineers only dream of, he recognizes that though he worked hard, it is God that ultimately blessed him with the opportunity to make an impact on the world of technology and the people around him.
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is a Baptist university with undergraduate programs in arts, sciences, and professional programs, and graduate programs. With an enrollment of 5,456 students in 175 areas of study, Cedarville is one of the largest private universities in Ohio and is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, including its School of Engineering and Computer Science, and high graduation and retention rates. For more information about the University, visit cedarville.edu.