Born in Poland, Mateusz Kosciuk (pronounced Muh-TAY-oosh KOSH-chook) and his family moved to Chicago when he was three years old. Though he can still speak Polish, he was Americanized quickly, fitting into the fabric of urban life in Chicago. As he grew up, he discovered he enjoyed tinkering with his family’s computers and troubleshooting technology issues, early markers for his future passions in the tech sector.

While attending high school, Mateusz had the opportunity to participate in a special college preparation program called Chicago Scholars. In that program, he was exposed to universities around Illinois and Indiana, including DePauw University. “Seeing the extracurricular opportunities at DePauw, that pushed me to go there, but I became especially interested after I visited the campus. I felt like I was at peace there,” he said.

When he started at DePauw, he began studying biotechnical engineering but later changed his major to computer science while picking up minors in psychology and kinesiology.

“I wanted to understand technology and how to apply that to the health space,” Mateusz said. “A major in computer science gave me the technical degree, and my minors helped me understand the physical and mental health aspects of human beings.”

While at college, he completed an internship every summer. From working on protein crystallization at Argonne National Laboratories to developing the technology to streamline billing operations at Chicago-based energy company ComEd, Mateusz explored lots of different fields and areas. Out of these many experiences, he solidified his desire to use tech to help solve pressing issues in the healthcare field.

Near the end of his time at DePauw, he attended a workshop on campus for TechPoint’s Xtern program, where he met staff members and learned about the new Indy Tech Fellowship program for graduating seniors. The fellowship was enticing to Mateusz as it sounded very similar to what he experienced with Chicago Scholars. As he discovered more about how the fellowship connects people to Indy, he was excited at the prospect of participating.

“To know a lot of people in my age group before moving into a new city really helped with the transition,” he said. “On top of that, the opportunity to meet a bunch of top players in the tech industry and learn from them was a great incentive as well.”

Though he had already accepted a job offer from Eli Lilly and Co., he was able to weave it into the Indy Tech Fellowship and participate in all the activities of the fellowship. At Lilly, he began working as an IT Analyst for In Vivo Biology Research Results. With this position, he supported and improved the systems that deal with specialized biological research studies and the results they produce. He also worked on integrating these systems from a business perspective with the larger biological research spectrum.

The fellowship has supported him by fostering a community of other students and professionals around Indy. He credits the fellowship with helping him prepare for life after college, both professionally and personally. He enjoyed the workshops and seminars where he got to know local entrepreneurs, hearing their stories and how they started their businesses. From a personal development standpoint, Pete the Planner was an especially memorable visit. “He came in to teach personal finance, and it really pushed me to live more within my means,” Mateusz said.

TOP: Mateusz and Dipali Patel BOTTOM (from left to right): Alex Correa, Mateusz, Tylor Garrett LEFT AND RIGHT: Mateusz

He also currently serves at the Capstone Experience Chair for his fellowship class, in which he’s working with a team to develop a culminating experience for his classmates. With lots of event planning and logistics involved, he uses his collegiate experiences like his leadership position in his fraternity to guide and support the capstone’s development. “Throughout the process, I’ve learned things like being able to delegate tasks appropriately and how to utilize the team you have in order to maximize efficiency,” he said.

Over the course of his fellowship, Mateusz has come to love the city of Indianapolis. Hailing from Chicago, he hadn’t been sure at first what to make of his new home but soon began enjoying everything Indy had to offer. “It has all the amenities that Chicago has, while still keeping some of the small town charms,” he said. “I really like how Indy is more pedestrian and friendly, with a lot of the major hubs being pretty focused.”

An avid cyclist, Mateusz recommends the Monon Trail and downtown Cultural Trail for taking the bike out. Restaurants and breweries feature prominently on his to-do list in Indy. A gamer at heart, he enjoys the video game bar Tappers in Fountain Square. He’s also an especially big fan of Sakura in the Keystone Crossing area, a Japanese restaurant that reminds him fondly of his study abroad in Japan during his junior year at DePauw.

He still works at Lilly, though he has changed positions since beginning his fellowship. Mateusz is now a Service Management Analyst in Medical Development, working on the other side of the research pipeline where new drugs enter human trial phases. He enjoys seeing the impact of his work in this setting and is looking forward to his future at Lilly and seeing Indy continue to grow as a destination for tech.

“Indy’s competitive advantage in attracting young talent is that it is a city that is constantly evolving. A lot of cities are already pretty heavily set in what they offer while Indy keeps expanding and trying new things every year. If you do not want a city that gets stale, then Indy is a good place for that.”