Student Spotlight – TJ Hannon

For junior Management Information Systems (MIS) major, TJ Hannon, Information Technology (IT) is in his blood. His father, who works in IT, got TJ started with his first computer running Windows 98 at a very young age and since then he’s never looked back. Multiple business courses taken during high school ignited his interest in business as well. These two passions led TJ to research programs online and ultimately find University of Connecticut’s MIS major, as he describes it “the perfect cross between a computer and a business degree”.

The wide applicability field that IT provides is what keeps Hannon continuously intrigued to this day. He states “we live in a world where information technology is not only found in every aspect of our lives, but it’s needed. Whether it’s a business or hospital we all need IT”.

Although the IT field is a large one TJ has found an area he is most interested by, architecture. Architecture IT focuses on designing and maintaining networks and databases, essentially the generally infrastructure of IT. Hannon stated, “IT architecture is something that I find fascinating due to the fact that it is extremely broad and particularly useful in a business setting. With an understanding of architecture, you can tackle the largest enterprise problems through IT”.

TJ is an active member of the Information Management Association (IMA). He spoke candidly about deciding to join the groups as it offers countless of opportunities for both MIS and all business majors in general. “It pays to stay on top and ahead of technology when trying to land a career after college. The resources and opportunities IMA provide education on these technologies, as well as relationships with working professions in these fields”, said TJ.

In addition to his involvement in IMA TJ is also a lab specialist at the Operations and Information Management (OPIM) Innovate lab. One of his main responsibilities as a lab specialist is to have a strong understanding and promotion of the Design Thinking process. TJ described the Design Thinking process as a problem solving methodology that promotes creative thinking. While this might seem daunting to some TJ assures that isn’t the case, “it is a multi-step process, which anyone can learn and apply to any idea or task that they want to work through. It is my job to help assist students through this system”. Another responsibilities of his position pertain to emerging technology. For example TJ has recently been investigating several virtual reality technologies in order to apply them to OPIM Innovate’s mission of bringing emerging technologies to students and faculty.

TJ’s passion for architecture IT led him to intern at Travelers in Hartford this past summer, which he described as an incredible opportunity. He worked for Contact Center Technologies providing contract server support for every line of business within Travelers. TJ found this internship not only extremely enjoyable but also very insightful as got him thinking about possibly pursing a graduate degree in data analytics.

During his remaining time at UConn TJ plans to continue taking advantage of the opportunities that the OPIM Innovate lab offers him. He encourages students to make use of the resources found in the OPIM Innovate space to further their understanding of emerging technology.