{"id":13350,"date":"2026-06-09T15:01:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T15:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13350"},"modified":"2026-06-09T15:01:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T15:01:37","slug":"csuf-computer-science-grad-finds-community-and-a-career-path","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13350","title":{"rendered":"CSUF computer science grad finds community and a career path"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As artificial intelligence continues to reshape industries around the world, recent Cal State Fullerton graduate Mason Jennings spent the final year of his bachelor\u2019s degree in computer science developing an AI-powered senior capstone project that blended machine learning, robotics and real-world problem-solving.<\/p>\n

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In his last sequence of classes, led by Yu Bai, CSUF professor of electrical and computer engineering, Jennings teamed up with fellow students Tommy Nguyen, Daniel Palomera and Osvaldo Torres on a project sponsored by corporate partner Month2Month, a short-term rental company.<\/p>\n

The goal of the project was to program a robotic dog equipped to inspect short-term rental properties for cleanliness and maintenance issues. The AI-powered system needed to direct the robot to navigate the rooms autonomously, detect potential problems such as wall cracks or mold, and record footage for future review.<\/p>\n

As one of three groups assigned to the project, Jennings and his teammates were responsible for the video capture component. They worked with a 4K camera mounted on the robotic dog and connected it to a mini computer also attached to the robot.<\/p>\n

To integrate the system, the team reverse-engineered the camera\u2019s Bluetooth controls and built a web-based interface so it could be operated through code instead of a separate remote. The mini computer took the footage captured by the camera and uploaded it to the cloud for AI image analysis. The team then worked to develop a model to score each room based on its condition.<\/p>\n

Jennings and the team achieved early success in the initial programming of the robotic dog but came up against some challenges in getting the hardware and platforms to communicate with each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hardest part is that after creating all these different programs and systems, bringing it back together in one program and just getting it all to work well together,\u201d Jennings said.<\/p>\n

When Jennings arrived at CSUF as a transfer student in 2022, he knew he wanted to pursue a degree in computer science. After graduating from Foothill High School in 2018, he enrolled in community college courses at Santiago Canyon College and Santa Ana College, as well as Orange Coast College, where he obtained an associate degree in liberal arts.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jennings took a computer science class, and he knew he had discovered a career path that was the perfect fit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d always been interested in technology, computers and figuring out how stuff worked,\u201d Jennings said. \u201cSo after that class, I decided this was a good major for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Within CSUF\u2019s College of Engineering and Computer Science, Jennings found a community that has both challenged and supported him. He joined Project RAISE, a CSUF program that helps STEM transfer students through mentoring, research opportunities and academic resources. This last semester, he worked as a University Learning Center tutor for math and computer sciences classes.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s been really rewarding because learning new things hasn\u2019t always come easily to me,\u201d Jennings said. \u201cBut it\u2019s so cool that I\u2019ve learned certain topics well enough that I\u2019m able to give back to students.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Jennings went into his senior capstone course without knowing anyone in the class. But after working with his teammates, he believes he could not have asked for a better group.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like we all bring out each other\u2019s strengths,\u201d Jennings said.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Jennings and his teammates presented their project at the ECS Student Project Innovation Expo 2026, an undergraduate competition in the College of Engineering and Computer Science that gives students a platform to present innovative projects from a range of engineering disciplines.<\/p>\n

Learning how to use AI to program a robotic dog for a real-world application opened Jennings eyes as to how expansive the computer science field is and how he sees himself fitting into the broader technology sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s the traditional coding, which has kind of been upended by a lot of the artificial intelligence, but then there\u2019s also data science and networking,\u201d Jennings said. \u201cSo I think it really exposed me to just how many different opportunities there are.\u201d<\/p>\n

His senior capstone project also taught Jennings that being able to communicate effectively with others on technical topics is just as important as the technical knowledge itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d really like a job that leans toward working with people,\u201d Jennings said. \u201cI feel like AI is definitely going to change a lot of jobs, but I think there will always be jobs available to people who know how to use AI and communicate with people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jennings admits his higher education journey hasn\u2019t always been easy, so earning his bachelor\u2019s degree \u201cfeels like a triumph.\u201d He is grateful to CSUF for being a place where he could explore his interest in computer science as part of a community that is committed to making an impact locally and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the idea of public education where people come here from all different backgrounds to work toward a similar goal,\u201d Jennings said. \u201cBeing a Titan means being part of such a large community, something that\u2019s such a force for good.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Mason Jennings has developed an AI-powered robotic dog to inspect short-term rental properties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news"],"yoast_head":"\nCSUF computer science grad finds community and a career path - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13350\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CSUF computer science grad finds community and a career path - Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mason Jennings has developed an AI-powered robotic dog to inspect short-term rental properties.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13350\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-09T15:01:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=13350#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=13350\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"headline\":\"CSUF computer science grad finds community and a career path\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-09T15:01:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=13350\"},\"wordCount\":913,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=13350#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8b768729c3e4c4e6edad5c9f0c6ec869.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Local News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=13350#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=13350\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=13350\",\"name\":\"CSUF computer science grad finds community and a career path - 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