Meet Dylan Thiemann, Class of 2015

Friday, May 8, 2015

Dylan Thiemann
Computer Science and Biochemistry major
Davenport, Iowa

Dylan ThiemannWhen it comes to dreams, Dylan Thiemann has discovered there is no set algorithm. They require time, diverse opportunity, and the willingness to change one’s mind. While at the University of Iowa, he was able to find all three. After entering at the UI as a pre-med biochemistry student, Thiemann discovered his passion in computer science. He declared a new major within the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and joined the UI Association for Computing Machinery, eventually becoming president. He is now preparing to move to Seattle, where he will work at Microsoft’s Windows 10 store as a full-time software engineer.

What was your best moment at the University of Iowa?

When I first took the Introduction to Computer Science class, I went to go to my professor’s office hours, to talk about computer science in general. I really had no specific questions. That conversation probably lasted about maybe an hour, an hour and a half, and just that – starting from when I walked into that room having no idea I wanted to do computer science, to leaving there and deciding to change my major, that was probably the most defining moment in my career here at the University of Iowa. So don’t be afraid to change your mind. I’m going to be doing what I love. I do not regret a single ounce of it.

Why are you glad you came to school here?

The great thing about Iowa is that it’s allowed me to pretty much fulfill my dream. Granted, coming in here I had no idea what my dreams were, but while I was at Iowa I was able to figure them out. Coming into college I would have thought, okay, I’d be in med school. Two years later, who would have thought that I’d be moving out to Seattle to work for Microsoft? It wasn’t even on my radar. Now my dream is becoming a reality, becoming a software developer for a big tech company out in Seattle. I’m getting to experience a new side of the world. I couldn’t be more grateful.

Where do you hope to be in 10 years?

I’ve always had a dream to start my own company. [I’d like to] have enough in-the-field experience to actually have the knowledge and mindset to create a company from scratch. So I guess in short, I’d like to probably move back to this general area back to where my family is, where my fiancée’s family is, and kind of build my own little legacy and my own little company to put my stamp in Iowa.

—Interview by Nora Heaton (BA 2013) and Dora Grote (Class of 2015); photo by Jill Tobin

The University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers about 70 majors across the humanities; fine, performing and literary arts; natural and mathematical sciences; social and behavioral sciences; and communication disciplines. About 15,000 undergraduate and nearly 2,000 graduate students study each year in the college’s 37 departments, led by faculty at the forefront of teaching and research in their disciplines. The college teaches all Iowa undergraduates through the college's general education program, CLAS CORE. About 80 percent of all Iowa undergraduates begin their academic journey in CLAS. The college confers about 60 percent of the university's bachelor's degrees each academic year.