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Graduating Senior Spotlight: Aram Zaprosyan Reflects on Leadership, Learning and a Passion for Technology

For Aram Zaprosyan, the University of Maryland has been much more than a place to earn a degree, it has been a community that challenged him to grow, lead and embrace every opportunity that came his way.

Zaprosyan graduated in May 2026 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, along with minors in ACES and Data Science. His journey with ACES began as a freshman in the living-learning program, where he quickly became involved in the community by serving on the ACES Student Board first as a first-year coordinator and later as secretary. After his sophomore year, he continued his involvement by joining the ACES minor, completing its coursework through graduation.

"College gave me so much, from knowledge and skills to friends and experiences," Zaprosyan said. "I've grown immensely throughout these past four years and will strive to pay it forward to future students in ACES and at the University of Maryland."

Throughout his undergraduate career, Zaprosyan balanced rigorous academics with meaningful professional experiences. After interning with Ncyber, a government contractor under CACI Products Company, during the summers of 2024 and 2025, he continued working there part-time as a software engineer throughout much of his senior year while attending classes full time.

"This work provided me with invaluable experience, and I'm incredibly grateful to have had this opportunity to work as part of an amazing team during my senior year," he said.

Outside the classroom, Zaprosyan found another opportunity to develop his leadership skills on the soccer field. As captain of his coed intramural soccer team, he led the team to an undefeated season, winning every game and all four A-League competitions.

"I obtained valuable leadership skills I couldn't have gotten from anywhere else and had a blast along the way," he said.

Zaprosyan credits several faculty members for shaping his academic experience. He expressed gratitude to Professor Auguste Gezalyan, who taught CMSC351H and mentored his computational geometry research, which was published in 2025. He also thanked Professor Fawzi Emad, who taught his introductory computer science courses and later welcomed him back as a teaching assistant, as well as Professor David Van Horn, who mentored him through advanced coursework and an independent compiler research study during his senior year.

From the beginning, it was the ACES community that drew Zaprosyan to the program.

"I knew I'd be in an amazing community of like-minded students and obtain cybersecurity knowledge and experience I couldn't get anywhere else," he said.

Living in Prince Frederick Hall during his first two years helped ease the transition to college and foster friendships that have lasted well beyond the classroom.

"ACES has had an incredibly strong impact on my college experience as I'm still very close to ACES friends from my freshman and sophomore years," he said. "Living with my peers in Prince Frederick Hall my first two years eased the transition to college by immersing me in a wonderful community from the very beginning."

Among his favorite ACES experiences was the semester-long capstone project in HACS200, where student teams designed and deployed honeypots to conduct cybersecurity research.

"We were free to choose the direction of this research and the configuration of our honeypots, which made it both challenging and rewarding," Zaprosyan said. "This project allowed us to apply everything we had learned from ACES courses taken up to this point and get a glimpse into what blue teaming and cybersecurity research is really like."

Serving on the ACES Student Board also remains one of his most meaningful experiences.

"I'm extremely grateful to have been elected twice to the board," he said. "I enjoyed every moment of giving back to my community as a first-year coordinator then secretary, and I would strongly encourage rising freshmen and sophomores to run for student board."

Looking back, one lesson stands above the rest.

"ACES taught me to be comfortable with being uncomfortable through its challenging coursework and projects," Zaprosyan said. "I'm extremely grateful to have had this principle instilled in me as I'll certainly face uncertain and unfamiliar situations after graduation."

He encourages prospective students to take advantage of everything ACES has to offer.

"ACES is a wonderful community that is unlike anything you'll find anywhere else," he said. "Aside from obtaining cybersecurity expertise applicable to all fields of study, you'll be surrounded by people who truly care for you and will push you to your full potential."

After graduation, Zaprosyan will join Appian's Chief Technology Office as a Technology Strategy Engineer, where he looks forward to continuing to grow as a technologist.

"The University of Maryland and ACES have proved to me that I can learn anything I set my mind to," he said. "Moving forward, I strive to continuously be learning, embracing challenges and staying on the cutting edge of emerging technologies."

His final message to the ACES community comes from a quote by Maya Angelou:

"Life is going to give you just what you put in it. Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you can wait."

"In essence," Zaprosyan said, "be fully dedicated and passionate about all that you do."

Published July 1, 2026