Alumni Spotlight - Samuel Cruz

Samuel Cruz - Class of 2013

I graduated from Haut-Lac in 2013. I was there for two years and had a wonderful experience. I very much appreciate the classmates and friends that I found there, as well as the teachers who guided us.

My Physics and English teachers sparked my interest in science and literature, which were important to my development as a scientist and to my fondness for reading.

Also, fun fact, I learned to ski thanks to the trips we took with Haut-Lac. iit was awesome then, and I still very much enjoy it!

After graduation, I took a gap year during which I studied French and considered my next steps. I was split between studying physics in Geneva or computer science in Lugano.

Ultimately, I decided to study in Lugano at the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI). I began my journey there in 2014 with a BSc in Informatics, followed by an MSc in Computational Science, and finally a PhD in Computational Science, which I completed just recently in 2026.

Computational science combines elements from computer science and mathematics to develop and analyze algorithms for solving problems in science and engineering. My PhD involved investigating and developing parallel training algorithms for artificial neural networks across diverse application domains.

Moreover, throughout my PhD, I worked as a teaching assistant at UniDistance Suisse, a remote-learning university with a campus in Brig, for a first-semester course in a BSc in Mathematics programme.

During my time in academia, I learned about many beautiful and interesting concepts. I was fascinated by mathematics and believe that we can all benefit from learning more about the field and how it continues to improve our lives as a species. I am also thankful to have learned that we are who we are thanks to the people around us, particularly those who believe in and support us. Thus, it is imperative to surround ourselves with people who help us grow, and to help others where we can on their journey.

To conclude, I’d like to say to all learners - you got this. Mistakes are a feature in life, not a bug. It’s all part of the human experience. If you don’t know how to do/solve/make something right now, it doesn’t mean you won’t be able to later. Meaningful progress can take time and effort, but in the long term, if you truly apply yourself and give your all to something, you can become truly great at it.

Haut-Lac Alumni Magazine