Spotlight on Tech Lounge

The Tech Lounge—a workshop, a study space, and the hottest place on campus for computer science students. The Tech Lounge, located on the top floor of Robinson Hall,  is a free space for students to study, work, and hang out with each other. The lounge offers free PCs, extra monitors, Raspberry Pis, and a community of like-minded students. However, that community isn’t born out of nowhere, and the technology can’t look after itself; that’s where the Tech Lounge Assistants come in—the students who maintain the heart of Rowan CS. 

Jaymes Morris, Allison Lykes, and Alan Ramirez are the three Tech Lounge assistants. They’ve been working at the Tech Lounge since the facility opened last Fall semester.

Ramirez is an Assistant Tech Lead, hailing from Hazlet in Monmouth County. He came to Rowan through word of mouth, after hearing how popular the university’s computer science program was. As a kid, Ramierz was fascinated by game design, and his interest in video games blossomed into an interest in programming.

Rameriz started working at the Tech Lounge to build connections with the computer science faculty. His favorite thing about the Tech Lounge is how local it is. “A lot of the people I know here are people from my major or adjacent to my major,” he says. “It starts conversations really easy, and a lot of conversations in relation to my interest,” Rameriz continues. “[The conversations]  doesn't make work feel like work, it makes feel a lot less strenuous.”

His favorite part about working in the Tech Lounge is the group projects he gets to do with his co-workers. “We work a lot together to make… major projects that involve structure and policy involving the [Tech Lounge] itself, like [Tech Lounge ]protocol, the rules… as well as more social and pr topics, like digital communication and getting the word out there abt this space,” says Ramierz.

He loves the problem-solving that comes with his job and major. He loves coding and programming, and how complicated the field can get. “[Even with] a lot of AI tools and certain things like that, it still doesn't really take away the fun of solving a problem on your own,” says Ramierz. “You can take [programming] really far.”

In all of his programming, what motivates Rameriz to continue is his parents. “They’ve worked really hard to earn their place and I respect that a lot, and the least I can do is work hard myself,” he says.. 

After he graduates, Ramierz wants to do either freelance work, or start up his career at a network security firm, or—to balance both worlds—running his own firm. Whatever he does, Ramierz wants to craft a profession that hones his video-game design skills. We’d love to see what the Tech Lounge puzzle-master has under his sleeve next!

Allison Lykes is another Assistant Tech Lead, from Howell, also in Monmouth. She came to Rowan because of the active student body and the strong relationships between students and professors. 

Her interest in computer science comes from a fascination with the industry, with its constant growth and slew of new opportunities. Similar to Ramierz, she chose her major because she loves solving problems. “My favorite thing about computer science is how I can work really hard, and that [hard work] pays off,” says Lykes. 

Lykes joined the Tech Lounge to learn more about the technology, among other reasons. “I also wanted to be able to help other students in learning [the tech] as well,” says Lykes. “I love the environment, the people who I work with, and getting to work with other students,” says Lykes. She loves the friendship and networking that happens at the Tech Lounge. “It all matters, everything we do here.” Lykes loves helping students most of all, particularly by listening to student feedback to improve the Tech Lounge. 

Lykes wants to use what she’s learned to improve the lives of others after graduation. She thinks technology can be a wonderful tool in improving society for the better. Wherever Lykes ends up going after graduation, we know it’ll be a better place than before she got there.  

Jaymes Morris is the Student Tech Lead, coming up from Florida to study at Rowan. He heard about Rowan from his aunt, Christine Larsen-Britt, an advisor for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. After taking a tour of the campus, he fell in love with the university and chose to study software engineering here. 

Just like Lykes and Ramierz, he loves the problem-solving aspect of computer science. “Whenever you run into a problem and you finally get it done, [I love] that sense of accomplishment,” says Morris. 

Similar to Lykes, Morris also took the job because he had taken an interest in the Tech Lounge’s technology.  He wants to go into software development, which makes the Tech Lounge a good fit. Like his coworkers, his favorite part of the Tech Lounge and his job is interacting with everyone who stops by. 

After graduation, Morris would love to parlay his current internship at ASRC into a full-time job. He gained the internship after stopping by the ASRC table at the career fair. With Morris’s go-getter attitude, we’re sure he can land a great opportunity anywhere. 

Each Tech Lounge employee has their own stories, motivations, and goals. But they all have one thing in common—each of their contributions makes the Tech Lounge a better place, and a better community

To learn more about the Tech Lounge facilities, click here.