SUNY New Paltz alumnus Ray Klass ’13g (Computer Science) spent nearly a decade capturing the best natural wonders in the country at a time when photography was going digital.  

The Rockland County resident had amassed a strong portfolio of photography for prominent clients, including national parks, as a freelance nature photographer in the 2000s, but he realized he had to pivot following the rise of smartphones.  

“It wasn't as easy to sell pictures when things turned digital, because everybody has a phone or a digital camera,” he said, “so they didn't need to pay me for photographs.” 

As a working artist, he saw that he needed to embrace the transition to digital photography, and he was up for the task. Midway into his thriving career, he picked up basic web development skills to convert his analog portfolio online.  

“I started looking through programming books, and I picked it up fairly quickly,” he said.  

Eventually, he had gotten notices for his website curation from fellow photographers and adopted a side hustle as a consultant for their own professional digital portfolios. 

“I started teaching workshops on building websites to fellow artists, and I found there was more money in this than there was in my photography, given how the landscape had changed,” he said. 

That was when Klass realized it was time to go all in on a career pivot. 

While passing by the campus en route to a photoshoot in the nearby Shawangunk Mountains, Klass was inspired to join a growing group of older, non-traditional college students at SUNY New Paltz who were looking to start a new career from scratch. He made the decision to apply for the University’s Computer Science graduate program. 

“I was always interested in both technology and art, so it made sense to pursue something at the intersection of those fields,” he said. “I figured there might be a computer science program here, so I decided to look into it.” 

At New Paltz, Klass learned what it takes to build a digital platform 

While taking classes at New Paltz, Klass quickly realized that it’s easy to be an amateur web designer, but it’s another thing to create a truly user-friendly experience with a digital platform. 

“Learning programming mostly through books taught me all of the technical skills, but not how to maintain a website over time,” he said. “My coursework helped streamline my understanding of everything that goes into creating and maintaining a digital platform.” 

A Database Management Systems course proved especially influential, giving Klass a more structured way to think about organizing content online. 

“As someone who came into this from the photography world, you’d have galleries and then images in galleries, but I didn’t know how to streamline those relationships properly,” he said. “For me, it was always about getting something to work. It wasn’t until later that I realized the higher cost can be not getting it to work right.” 

A Database Management Systems course proved especially influential, giving Klass a more structured way to think about organizing content online. 

“As someone who came into this from the photography world, you’d have galleries and then images in galleries, but I didn’t know how to streamline those relationships properly,” he said. “For me, it was always about getting something to work. It wasn’t until later that I realized the higher cost can be not getting it to work right.” 

As a graduate student, Klass was focused on pursuing his thesis, which centered on the study of natural language processing, or the technology that helps computers process human language. 

This interest stemmed from an internship he balanced with his studies at a Poughkeepsie-based higher education technology company, Liaison, now known as Spectrum Solutions.  

“At the time, they were transitioning from a legacy code base to what was considered a state-of-the-art programming language,” he said. “Seeing how they adapted to change was valuable, especially in a field defined by constant evolution.” 

How New Paltz prepared Klass to work for one of the largest global tech companies 

Following graduation, Klass padded his resume with a number of software engineering and programming roles. Each of these experiences prepared him for his current role at Google, where he works as a technical program manager assessing machine health for the global technology company.  

He initially applied through an online recruitment program shortly after graduation, but did not advance beyond the first interview. Years later, Google reached out again for the role he holds today, as they were looking to expand their Google Cloud Service Health operations — which manage efficiency for all Google entities — in the New York region. 

“It was the right place at the right time, as they still had my file in their system,” he said. “I prioritized learning throughout my career and sought out roles that would help me grow. That mentality helped me get to where I am.”

As a Computer Science graduate alumnus, Klass is in good company, joining the ranks of University alumni who went on to work for large companies such as IBM and Amazon. 

“Our graduate students are consistently strong and motivated. Many come in with solid technical backgrounds and quickly build on that through applied coursework, projects and research,” said Computer Science Graduate Program Coordinator and Lecturer Kaitlin Hoffmann. “These outcomes reflect both the quality of our students and their drive to take advantage of opportunities while in the program.”

Even with a busy career, Klass regularly gives back to his alma mater. For the past three academic years, he has returned to campus to serve as a judge for Computer Science undergraduate senior thesis presentations. 

“I want students to realize that if they want to study computer science, there are many paths to get there,” he said. 

For prospective SUNY New Paltz Computer Science graduate students, Klass touts the benefits of public higher education. 

“There's incredible value at New Paltz,” he said. “I believe public graduate education is essential in helping people give the foundation they need for this career.” 

Click here to learn more about the Computer Science graduate program at SUNY New Paltz.