ALUMNI HIGHLIGHTS
Andrew Huot ’ 15
When you turn on a light or do laundry , you probably don ’ t think about the electricity used to power those items . Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) will likely be just as ubiquitous , thanks to people like Andrew Huot ’ 15 , a product manager of Cloud and AI at tech giant Microsoft .
AI ’ s presence in our lives is rapidly growing . You use it while spell-checking a Word document , scrolling through a dating app , or reading customer reviews on a shopping website . And that ’ s just the tip of the iceberg .
Andrew ’ s work with a team of 30 software engineers puts him on the forefront of AI . “ They figure out the ‘ how ’,” he says , “ and as a product manager I figure out the ‘ what ’.”
During his time at TA , Andrew served as class and student body president and played goalie for the Trojan hockey team . While Seattle , Washington , is a long way from Maine , the lessons he learned at TA translate to the office . “ It ’ s about teamwork ,” he says . “ You have to know how to be part of a team , how to motivate people to commit and compete together .”
After Thornton , Andrew graduated with an engineering degree from Georgia Tech , where he captained a debate team that reached the national championship . That , combined with his experience at Thornton ’ s Model UN club , taught him the importance of quick thinking and the ability to articulate concepts in a clear and concise way .
The Model UN experience also fed his interest in public policy , which helps in his current role . In addition to the engineering and project management work , Andrew ’ s clients include government agencies . “ Problems we solve for the government often transfer to other customers ,” he says .
Andrew ’ s success — he ’ s been at
Microsoft for 4 years — comes as no surprise to Matt Amoroso , one of his teachers at Thornton . “ I ' ve had few students in my 20 years of teaching physics whose love of the subject , and love of learning in general was so pure ,” says Matt . “ His aspirations were always so much bigger than any high school lab could contain , so I always knew he would find amazing success exploring more advanced academic arenas !”
That enthusiasm burst through when Andrew talks about his work : “ AI is going to be incredibly impactful , probably as impactful as the internet and electricity . You ’ ll use it every day and not think about it . I can ’ t believe they pay me to do this — it ’ s really exciting .”
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