Alumni Profile: Anthony Kapotsis ’18

Anthony Kapotsis ’18 is a Programmer Analyst at the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts. Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in computer science in 2018, Kapotsis now builds web applications for the court via Spring Web Services, a product of the programmer community which helps build digital web services for other clients.

Document-driven web services help to aid court proceedings with details such as logistical needs for jurors and assigning state-appointed lawyers to defendants who can’t afford their own. Kapotsis contributed to this effort with a special project he took on during the pandemic, when he built an application which makes court lists interactive since the public and media have the right to access the daily public schedule of the court.

In preparation for the workplace, Kapotsis learned Java while at the University, a popular programming language used to create software applications/ The use of Java is prolific among programmers, with companies such as Airbnb, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon using it for programming purposes. “I was lucky enough to find a job that uses Java as its main programming language,” Kapotsis said. “It also helped me because when you get comfortable with one language, it becomes easier to pick up other programming languages.”

Databases were another subject Kapotsis recalled learning at Westfield State. Since so many systems and organizations have moved to digital spaces, knowledge of databases and how to manage them is a crucial skill for programmers. Kapotsis estimated that he uses a database for 95 percent of his projects, and that learning how to use them at Westfield State “really helped prepare for this job.”

Because of his experience, Kapotsis advocates for more database-related courses to help current and future students keep up to date with the computer science field. He also encourages computer science majors to explore and pursue classes based on security, since his job relies on this knowledge. Before he puts any applications out, Kapotsis added, they are tested for security purposes in order to prevent data leaks. “Learning about security vulnerabilities and what to look for would be a great skill to have after graduation,” he added.

A particularly influential experience for Kapotsis was the internship he completed for an aviation company Rectrix, where he worked on application development.

“Having that experience in the actual industry was huge,” he reflected. “My current boss was really interested in that work, and it was great to work with a small team at Westfield State. Application development was completely new to me so the internship helped me grow.”