As the Secretary of the Information Management Association (IMA), Alex Martinez is dedicated to maintaining communications with members, make sure the organization’s calendars are up-to-date, taking attendance at meetings and recording meeting minutes.
Alex, a junior majoring in Management Information Systems (MIS), said his involvement with IMA began two years ago when he attended the Operations and Information Management (OPIM) Department’s technology workshops on 3D printing, Raspberry Pi and Linux.
Alex said that as he progressed in his academic career, he began to see more of the benefits that IMA provided – building key career skills and making connections in the information technology field.
The following year, Alex said he began to attend more of IMA’s events and meetings to get acquainted with his career plans, OPIM classes and IT tools. This year, Alex became even more involved with IMA by holding the position of Secretary, through which he hopes to build upon his leadership and organizational skills. He said that becoming more involved in IMA will allow him to gain relevant knowledge in the MIS field and help other students to do so, as well.
This semester, Alex said his main goal for IMA is to enhance the membership experience.
“One of my main goals for IMA this semester is to help facilitate an active, productive, and fun experience for our members, and hopefully get them even more interested and aware of where their major can take them after UConn,” Alex said.
For students interested in joining IMA, Alex said not to be shy. As a shy individual himself, Alex said he hesitated to get involved on campus at first.
“I can say from my own experience that pushing yourself to join an organization you’re interested in is one of the best decisions you can make for yourself and your education,” Alex said.
On a personal level, Alex wants to gain a better understanding of common information technology tools to maximize his experience while interning at Travelers this upcoming summer. He said that IMA has and continues to help him meet these goals through understanding many important tools used in the IT field. Ultimately, Alex said he would like to work at a technology firm, helping design and implement key pieces of the firm’s business.