Parsa Plans Ahead for Success

(Pittsburgh, Pa.) – After a successful internship over the summer of 2013 at Apple in San Francisco, Carnegie Mellon University volleyball player, Senna Parsa, was eager to carry the positive attitude into the volleyball season.

Parsa landed an internship with Apple during the summer of 2013 where she was a developer on the American engineering team.

"I made a decision that I was going to work as hard as I can because the internship was really difficult," Parsa said. "I did really well and got an offer to work for Apple after graduation, which I accepted immediately!"

Parsa learned of the Apple internship opportunity through the Carnegie Mellon Technical Opportunities Conference (TOC).

"I talked to the recruiters from Apple at the job fair here at Carnegie Mellon," Parsa said. "I then had a few rounds of interviews and when I found out I got the internship I was really excited!"

During her 10 weeks at Apple, Parsa was a developer creating an application which had previously been completely manual. This application would be used by engineers to change router configurations across their global network.

"I think it was a really great project for me to be involved in because Apple has a new network they are working to build, so my project is something that will have a direct impact on all Apple users," Parsa explained.

Parsa will begin her career at Apple in September of 2014 where she has decided to enter a rotation program to be able to get experience in many areas of the company.

"When I begin, I am not exactly sure what I will be working on," Parsa continued. "They told me I could begin in the developer position I had during my internship, but I think I want to go more in the direction of being a data analyst or possibly work in user experience.  I am really just excited to go in and learn through experience."

Parsa will be moving to San Francisco by the end of the summer to begin her career.  She is extremely excited about being on the west coast.

"I love San Francisco," Parsa said. "It is definitely where I want to end up and since I don't start until September I will have the entire summer to relax and travel."

Travelling is something that is extremely important to Parsa and is a part of her life that she hopes she will be able to continue after graduating.

"Last spring break I had the opportunity to go to Istanbul. I travelled there with my dad and there were so many mosques and museums which I loved seeing. It is my favorite of all the places that I have travelled so far," Parsa noted.

Parsa has also travelled to Paris, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turkey.  She plans on heading to Turkey the summer before beginning her job with Apple.

"I want to go back to Turkey because I am from Turkey and my dad's side of the family all still lives there," Parsa said. "The name Senna means "praise" in Turkish."

Family is extremely important to Parsa as her parents and other family members have been extremely supportive of her collegiate student-athlete career at Carnegie Mellon.  With her mom in Washington D.C. and her dad living in Seattle it isn't always an easy commute for them to watch Parsa play, but they certainly make every effort that is possible.

"My mom has been to all the DoubleTree Invitationals that we have here at Carnegie Mellon," Parsa added. "My dad is farther away, but I know that he watches our games online. They are both so supportive and actively keep up with our volleyball schedule."

Parsa's parents are excited and impressed with how successful the volleyball team has been this season and her grandparents have started keeping up with the team as well.  Parsa herself is especially excited about the season the team is having.

"So far we are 16-6, which is the best I have seen our record since I have been here," Parsa added. "We are just playing so much better than we ever had."

There are six seniors, including Parsa, that have set a successful tone and a united team dynamic that is visible on and off the court.

"The six seniors are really close on the court and off," Parsa said. "The fact that we are all so close is a big part of us leading the team well together."

The dynamic of the team is noticeably different than in years past.

"I definitely think we have by far the best attitude on our team, this year more than any year before and myself and the rest of the leaders on the team expected it to be this way."

The team has now started to play conference teams and is hoping to enter the University Athletic Association (UAA) championships as one of the top teams.

"The UAA teams are really competitive," Parsa said. "Our team just needs to continue to work really hard in practices and stay focused because as long as we keep playing like we have been we will win games."

Parsa is hoping to capture her 1,000th kill this weekend in St. Louis, Missouri as the team competes in the UAA Round Robin #2 at Washington University.

"It definitely feels great knowing that I have contributed at least 1,000 points offensively to my team," Parsa said.

Parsa is expected to graduate in May 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology. She will move forward leaving behind her most successful season of volleyball in her four-year stint at Carnegie Mellon.