Written by Jaimie Farel ’10
Betsy Langowski ’08 landed her dream job at age 22.
Two short years after graduating with degrees in mathematics and communication studies, Langowski works for her one true passion, Apple Computers. She credits Gustavus Adolphus College for her success.
As a lifelong user of Apple products, Langowski now serves the company as Accessories Quality Assurance Engineer at the Corporate Headquarters of Apple in Cupertino, Calif., where she does testing and engineering on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. “The fact that I am an influential person in Apple, that my contributions are in your iPhones, your iPods, and your iPads, that’s something to be proud of,” Langowski says.
“I can say with 100 percent certainty that Gustavus’s flexibility and its encouragement toward the liberal arts is why I am here today,” says Langowski. “Gustavus didn’t force me into one academic field, or one activity, or even one social standing. I was allowed to explore and really chart my own life, finding guidance in the restrictions of the major/minor system, but never limitations.”
Further, Langowski says her experience at Gustavus thoroughly prepared her for a life of leadership and service. “Every day I use skills that Gustavus either honed, or perhaps introduced to me. I make my contributions to Apple products with confidence because I know that I was well-prepared to handle anything that comes at me.”
She always had a passion for math, though at Gustavus she initially took communication studies courses because of her interests in writing and the theatrics of communicating. Admittedly, it was an attempt to smother her “closet nerdiness,” but she missed the simple logistics of mathematics. After getting to know the faculty in the mathematics and computer science department, Langowski combined her two interests and majored in both communication studies and mathematics—two seemingly opposite majors, but for her, are two logical arts that go hand in hand.
“Bottom line, I chose my majors because of Gustavus’s acceptance and encouragement of the liberal arts; I was able to explore my love of pure logic without being restrained by the titles of fields of academia,” says Langowski. While at Gustavus, she also participated in the Gustavus Dance Company, worked for Gustavus Technology Services, and studied math for a semester in Budapest, Hungary.
Today, in California, she is not all work and no play. She has adopted a dog within the last year and, as a crusader for animal rescue groups, she plans to adopt another in the near future.