Jannik Hofmann

How did you first hear about Rize, and why did you decide to take a Rize course?

Jannik is a senior computer science major at Lourdes University. His interest in technical problem solving started at a young age, when he would play sports simulation video games and was curious to understand how code creates functioning games. When he started studying in college, Jannik became fascinated with the various emerging technologies within computer science and continued diving deeper into the field.

Originally from Germany where he began his computer science studies, Jannik transferred to Lourdes University to play on the men's soccer team. He works part-time in the academic success center while balancing athletics and coursework.

How did you apply your Rize skills outside of the classroom?

Jannik secured two internships at P36 MBH, a local health sciences software company in Germany that creates unique identifier systems for medical products. This was an opportunity he created for himself, by proactively reaching out to the company with a cold outreach. When they responded, he was able to illustrate his interest and technical competence by discussing projects from his coursework.

First internship project: Jannik completed a backup system framework for the company's Atlassian documentation platform using Python, which he learned in his Rize programming courses. The company had started code for an 11-step backup process that had problems at step 2. He made an immediate impact by running the code, debugging and fixing errors iteratively until each step of the system functioned properly.

Second internship project: Jannik evaluated and implemented an antivirus program for the company, using knowledge about attack vectors and defense mechanisms from his hardware classes. He researched possible cybersecurity threats, vetted vendors, and recommended a firewall that filters network traffic. He presented his recommendation to the leadership team, who implemented his solution which is still used today.

How did this experience impact your career trajectory?

Applying classroom knowledge to real-world problems gave Jannik a powerful sense of validation and pride. "When you're in the classroom, you sometimes ask yourself, yeah, when in the real world can I actually need that... It's just a great feeling of knowing that all the time you invested is worth it and helps you solve problems later on."

The most fulfilling moment that stands out from his internships is when the CEOs implemented his antivirus recommendation as a company-wide initiative. Having his work as an intern taken seriously gave him pride in his contributions and confidence in his technical abilities. The experience confirmed he was ready to dive even deeper into specialized areas of computer science, choosing to focus on academics over continuing soccer in grad school.

What's next for you?

Jannik graduated from Lourdes University in December 2025 and began his Master’s in Computer Science at California State University Fullerton in January 2026.  His goal is to explore AI deeply and then find a job in that field that allows him to continue to make organizational impact.