UAlbany Electrical Engineering Grad's Journey Began with a YouTube Search
ALBANY, N.Y. (June 11, 2026) — Curiosity about how alternators work prompted Marianna Karagiannis to pursue a bachelor’s in electrical and computer engineering at UAlbany’s College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering.
She was midway through her first year, when her car’s alternator failed and she searched online for videos about the part. Classically, Karagiannis “went down a YouTube rabbit hole of how electricity is distributed in the car, how alternating current works and many more videos, including ECE lectures from other universities.”
A change in majors
At the time, she was majoring in psychology. But her car part search sparked a new interest and a new major, just a week before her second semester. Cementing her choice was success in an introductory ECE course with Professor of Practice Jeffrey Braunstein.
Now as the Class of 2026 graduate becomes an associate product engineer at Integra Optics in Albany, she credits Braunstein and a real-world project she tackled as an undergraduate with getting her there.
“My role at Integra Optics is largely due to my senior capstone project being closely related to fiber optic transceivers,” Karagiannis said. “This experience gave me knowledge and confidence during my interviews and ultimately helped me land the job.”
Building confidence
A certain fearlessness also propelled Karagiannis, particularly when higher-level courses challenged her — and she stepped up.
“My number one takeaway from CNSE and my undergrad experience in general is to not be intimidated by something that you don’t know,” she explained. “With each class that I passed or each hard topic that I came to understand, I told myself, ‘If you could figure out XYZ, you’ll be able to learn this too.’”
Of course, it helped to have a supportive mentor like Braunstein.
“He gave me confidence in my ability to complete the major when I doubted myself,” Karagiannis said. “Aside from what he taught me technically by being such a great professor, he taught me to believe in myself and my problem-solving skills by simply recognizing my efforts.”
In five years, the electrical engineer sees herself in a management role — leading a team of engineers — after deepening her knowledge of optics and photonics. For now, however, she’s grateful to discover a career that’s both stimulating and challenging. And it all started with a simple internet search.