From Silicon Valley hackathons to full-time co-op

From Silicon Valley hackathons to full-time co-op

One student's unconventional path to landing a co-op in San Francisco

At the University of Cincinnati, co-op is more than a program-it's a launchpad for real-world experience, professional growth, and, sometimes, bold reinvention. For Pratyush Srivastava, a senior majoring in computer science in UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science, that launchpad took an unexpected route: a one-way ticket to San Francisco, a shared studio apartment, and a string of hackathons that turned frustration into a career-making opportunity.

As an international student on an F-1 visa, Srivastava was eligible to participate in co-op through Curricular Practical Training (CPT), which allows most international students with an F-1 or J-1 visa to gain paid, major-related work as an integral part of their academic program-no employer sponsorship required. While most opportunities were open to him, some applications stalled due to common misconceptions around visa status. After more than a year of navigating applications and timing challenges, Srivastava decided to forge his own path.

With no local contacts, the group turned to a popular events app, signing up for nearly every tech event they could find-often ten in a single day. Four or five days after arriving, they targeted a smart-glasses hackathon hosted by Mentra, a Y Combinator-backed startup. Srivastava's friend was accepted; Srivastava was waitlisted.

He sent a direct message to the founder on X, formerly Twitter, sharing their story as three Computer Science students eager to build. The founder not only let them in but invited the group to the company's downtown house-office to test the still-in-beta glasses.

Surrounded by industry veterans with 10+ years of experience and teenage founders who had already raised millions, the students felt outmatched. Their strategy was simple: build something achievable, impressive, and technically clever.

Using the smart glasses, they developed a prototype that could identify people at the event, automatically surface their publicly available professional information, and make networking far more contextual and efficient. With support from Y Combinator engineers, and despite buggy hardware, their project stood out. They won the hackathon-just four days into their trip.

A short promotional video of their project exploded on X with over 500,000 views before the team chose to remove it due to privacy considerations. The win became their calling card. "We're just students" quickly became "We just won a Y Combinator hackathon," and that momentum opened doors across the city.

One connection led to Acuvity, an AI cybersecurity company now part of Proofpoint. The founder was particularly impressed by Srivastava's quick discovery of the data vulnerability-a detail that showed real investigative skill.

Rather than a standard interview, the founder posed a genuine business challenge. AI companies frequently update their tools, forcing Acuvity's team to spend days manually reviewing and adapting code. Could the students build an AI-driven system to automatically detect changes and suggest updates?

Srivastava and his friends accepted the challenge. While managing remote summer classes and finals, Srivastava worked 10-hour days. The founder checked in regularly, offering feedback and guiding their direction.

Their solution proved viable and was integrated into the product. Internship offers followed, with the option of cash or equity. Srivastava chose equity. When Proofpoint acquired Acuvity, his stock compensation alone more than covered the entire San Francisco trip.

That initial project evolved into full co-op rotations at Proofpoint. Srivastava now contributes to the company's AI security business, developing discovery algorithms that identify AI tools and help assess risk. His role has continued to grow through his co-op experience.

Originally on track for a spring 2027 graduation in UC's five-year program, Srivastava has accelerated where possible through International Baccalaureate credits. He is now aiming to graduate in 2026 while balancing his remaining coursework with full-time co-op responsibilities. Proofpoint has been flexible, recognizing that his project is customer-facing and critical to ongoing support.

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