Association for Computing Machinery banquet marks new chapter for computer science program – The Cauldron
The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) will hold the Cleveland State University ACM banquet on the fourth floor of Washkewicz Hall on Friday, Nov. 14 at 5 p.m., featuring a presentation from a software engineer at Lockheed Martin.
Madison Bondreau, the keynote speaker, will give an industry presentation about her work at Lockheed Martin. She currently holds top secret security clearance and will discuss what that clearance means for her role.
“As you may know, computer science is not in a great state right now, and a lot of people, I think, feel hopeless about their prospects after college,”said David Awkar, a computer engineering student and ACM treasurer.. “So I think being able to meet someone who has made it and is in an active role might alleviate some of that stress.”
The idea for the banquet was brought up by Stefan Andre, the new computer science chair. Prior to working at Cleveland State, he worked at Lamar University in Texas where he advised their ACM chapter. Their annual ACM banquet was a very popular and successful event, and he wanted to bring this success into Cleveland State.
The ACM banquet will also feature a catered dinner and a networking session with the speaker, with the event continuing into the evening.
“I think it will be a nice glimpse into success in the industry,” Awkar said.
Going into his first year at Cleveland State, he was naturally drawn to the ACM club as the only computer science organization on campus. With the club being small, consisting of only about 20 students, he was able to work his way up by attending meetings and events regularly, which is how he became the treasurer for the 2025-2026 school year as only a second year student.
The ACM club has strengthened his passion for computer science. The association is an international learned society for computing, with academic chapters as well as research based entities around the globe. With meetings every Saturday and regular participation in different programming and cyber security competitions, the club is very active and encourages all students to learn more about coding and computer science.
“I’ve met a lot of fantastic people and I’ve made great connections with people that I otherwise wouldn’t have if I wasn’t in there,” Awkar said.