Now a Medtronic Engineer, Alum Matthew Jerrard ’21 Inspires Tommies - Newsroom | University of St. Thomas Matthew Jerrard ’21 knew by early middle school he wanted to study computer science.  He discovered this by creating CraftBukkit servers in the sandbox video game Minecraft, which is simply customizing gameplay to create a unique experience. “I knew from that point on I was going into software engineering,” said Jerrard, who majored in computer science at the University of St. Thomas College of Arts and Sciences . He recalls being fascinated by Minecraft-type codes and watching his command spark something. “I liked the creativity applied in an unconventional way. People don’t really think about it, but programming is definitely an art.” Jerrard, who’s now a senior software engineer at Medtronic, visited his alma mater during an event cohosted by ColorStack and the Computer Science Club. He shared how he climbed the ladder in his field and is using his degree to thrive during the boom of artificial intelligence. “It’s not always a linear path,” he said. Inspired to enroll at St. Thomas because it’s where his older brother attended, he revealed he also chose the school that could prepare him for his career. “What I heard about St. Thomas was that it produced well-rounded individuals, and so that was really intriguing to me,” he said. Uyen Thy Duong ’27 (far left) and fellow students photo op with Matthew Jerrard '21 on April 9, 2026, inside a classroom in O'Shaughnessy Science Hall. (Gino Terrell / University of St. Thomas) “Having an alum like Matthew Jerrard visit is incredibly powerful for our members,” said Uyen Thy Duong ’27, president of the Computer Science Club student organization. “Seeing someone who sat in these same classrooms just a few years ago now thriving as a senior software engineer at a major company like Medtronic makes the path to success feel much more tangible.” Duong said one of her biggest takeaways listening to Jerrard was learning the importance of mentorship and continued learning. “His advice on navigating the transition from student to industry leader gave us all great food for thought,” she said. “Events like this are core to our mission at the Computer Science Club. We strive to bridge the gap between academic theory and professional practice, and hearing these real-world success stories is exactly what re-energizes our students for their own career journeys." Here are takeaways from three memorable topics Jerrard discussed during his Q&A with students: How AI has impacted work Jerrard said artificial intelligence does not play as large a role in his day-to-day work as some might expect, largely due to long project lead times and the strict precautions required in the medical device industry. While many technology companies release new software solutions on a weekly or monthly basis, his team at Medtronic takes a more deliberate, long-term approach. Some software projects take six months to a year to build and validate, while others are planned years in advance. “AI, as it has come into the picture, has been slower to adapt within our infrastructure; but we’ve been adapting it to local development such as Copilot,” he said. He emphasized the team’s focus on high-quality release cycles and rigorous documentation, verification and validation processes. As a result, production-level AI integration has played a more limited role in his work. However, local AI tools, such as GitHub Copilot, are regularly used to support development alongside standard code review practices. Keep up with emerging technologies “You don't want to completely disconnect yourself outside of work and you also don’t want to keep yourself contained to only the business needs mindset, because technology is ever adapting. “Knowing how to balance researching on your own time, growing within the company and then also taking breaks, because that’s important. You don’t want to completely immerse yourself into technology.” Jerrard shared that he reads articles and uses platforms such as Pluralsight, where professors or tenured engineers give speeches stemming from their expertise. In the same breath, he said, balance is key. He also finds time for hiking, kayaking, cooking and spending time with his fiancée and their two cats. Stand out during job interviews Jerrard suggested the students should try to create something accessible at their fingertips to show recruiters what they can do. “It's nice to have things that other people aren't necessarily doing; so it could be something quick you can show during an interview. Maybe it's an app or a website that speak to ‘how do you best represent yourself?’ And ‘are you working on things that do require effort?’ Find the extra time to do it, and how to explain it as well.’” Use class projects to show your value Jerrard told the students they should look at their weaknesses and build upon them to make them stronger in their field. Class projects are a good measuring stick to do such. “If you're seeing an aspect in some of the classes that you're struggling with - take that as an opportunity to, in your own time, make a product out of it, try to understand what your gaps were there. That'll give you good skills. And the skills are what's really important to advocate for yourself. Or when you're on the job, you will prove to continue to be a good engineer, because you have those skills yourself. And so knowing that, ‘Yes, I could move forward in the class,’ but maybe holistically, look back at some of those fundamentals that were a little more challenging and see if you can create something out of it.” Article Spotlights Latest from Our Publications