My Co-op Gig: Alisha Karim

For the past two years, balancing work with a class schedule has not been easy for fourth-year computer science student Alisha Karim. When she discovered the chance to alternate an academic semester with full-time work through the College of Engineering and Computing Sciences’ cooperative (co-op) education program, she jumped at the opportunity.

“For once, I could give all my energy to one role and really immerse myself in the work,” says Karim, who worked in Northwell Health’s software development department from June through December. “That focus helped me grow more confident, and it gave me the space to truly understand what working in a technical role feels like without splitting my attention between school and work.”

Northwell Health is New York’s largest healthcare provider. At its New Hyde Park, N.Y., location, Karim thrived in her position, proving to herself that she can operate in and contribute meaningfully to complex, real-world environments. Her role focused on building automation solutions and improving internal operational systems. Karim also regularly met with other teams from local hospitals to discuss their inquiries and desired workflow improvements. During those meetings, she learned about the teams’ challenges, identified bottlenecks, and discussed potential technical solutions. From there, her tasks included designing, building, testing, and refining systems before presenting them to the client.

“Each day required both technical problem-solving and clear communication,” Karim says. With an average workday of reviewing client inquiries, scheduling meetings, working on project drafts, and cooperating with the web services team for projects and updates, Karim was frequently rewarded by seeing the tools she created used in streamlining hospital workflows and supporting employees’ daily responsibilities.

One such moment will live in her memory forever. Karim worked on building and refining a system that logs when a hospital is placed on redirection (non-urgent patients are rerouted to other facilities) through the New York City Fire Department. After multiple rounds of troubleshooting and adjustments, the system was fully implemented for hospital staff to automatically track redirection data instead of manually logging details in what were already high-pressure situations. The data also provided clearer visibility into patterns, which allowed leadership to advocate for changes and improvements to the greater redirection system.

“I’ve always been big on solving problems,” says Karim, who is also an entrepreneur and co-founder of the startup VitaPath. She hopes to use her computer science degree to build and innovate technology that strengthens healthcare systems. “I naturally start thinking about how something could run more efficiently. I truly enjoy finding practical solutions that make people’s work easier and more organized.”

Citing her co-op as a “perfect fit,” Karim felt like she naturally belonged in an environment where technology is used to solve operational challenges in healthcare. She had the technical skills necessary for her duties, but her hands-on work taught her lessons that a textbook couldn’t, such as becoming comfortable working through ambiguity, mapping out logic, and thinking several steps ahead, as well as trusting her instincts enough to dive confidently into unfamiliar territory .

“My co-op experience gave me a renewed sense of energy and excitement about my future in tech.”