Christopher Calaci, a sophomore Management and Informations Systems (MIS) student, has many accomplishments to be proud of from his short time at the University of Connecticut. Originally a finance major, Calaci realized his passion for Information Technology (IT) after attending the Operations and Information Management (OPIM) Department workshops and information sessions. Since changing his major from finance to MIS, Calaci has been elected the Vice President of the Information Management Association (IMA). Calaci originally became involved with IMA to make connections with employers and peers, but since then has become an advocate for IMA. “I want people to realize that getting into IT or learning about it isn’t hard. It may be something that is unfamiliar at first but it is a great subject to get involved in.” Getting more students involved in IT and IMA is one of his goals as Vice President, helping to break down the stereotype behind information technology.

In addition to IMA, Calaci is a member of the Business Connections Learning Community (BCLC), mentors freshmen through UConn’s First Year Experience (FYE) program, and works in the IT Department in the School of Business. The BCLC provides students with a place to live, learn, and connect with each other, helping students grow both inside and outside of the classroom. It was through the BCLC that Calaci was introduced to the FYE course that he would later teach. It was here that he encouraged students to “take time out of your day to learn something you may not be learning in the classroom. Just because you’re not taking business classes now doesn’t mean you have to wait to start learning.” These are words he tries to live by, by pursuing his passions outside of the classroom. Last winter break, with the help of the internet, Christopher built a computer and described it as “adult legos.” This determined and dedicated attitude is what helped him land his position in the IT Department at the School of Business. Here he works at the helpdesk, assisting students with their technological needs.

Although Calaci is currently focusing on his academics and securing an internship for this summer, he is most interested in pursuing a career in project management, specifically in software development, or cyber security. Because Calaci is still early in his business education career, he is mostly taking general education courses which has helped push him to learn and try new things, such as philosophy and social ethics. This class taught him how to discuss and form opinions on prominent ethical issues. He is planning on using this class to help him in his future and his career, specifically if he goes into cyber security because of the controversy over privacy issues. He would ideally want to work at a large company that gives him the opportunity to grow and explore as a professional and then look to downsize once he has found his passion.

With his remaining two years at UConn, Calaci is hoping to quench his thirst for knowledge with a variety of OPIM courses and adding a minor that will be both beneficial and enjoyable. Although he may not know where his future will take him, UConn has encouraged him to get involved involved and meet people with similar interests. “Interacting with all of these people has helped me realize what and who I want to be as a person, and the longer I am here the more I learn about myself and what I want to do.”

Robert McClardy Jr.,a freshman from New London, Connecticut is just getting started on his collegiate journey through the Computer Science and Math Statistics programs. McClardy attended Ella T. Grasso Southeastern Technical High School, where he was able to take courses in Information Technology (IT). It was here that he developed skills on designing, developing, and programming, hardware, software, and multimedia platforms. “The more I learned about computers, the more I wanted to learn,” McClardy remarked on his continuous interest in IT. His thirst for technical knowledge could not be stopped, so he did more projects outside of the classroom, got involved, and participated in programming competitions. McClardy’s senior year he made a forum site where people could log in, make posts, and reply to each other. This helped with programs and frameworks, and incorporated what he has done in the past with database management and website building. It was these extra steps of involvement in IT that spurred him to choose his majors.

Although his time at UConn has been short, McClardy has made a conscious effort to get involved on campus. Since the beginning of the semester he has joined the Men’s Glee Club, the Math Club, and OSTEM.  In OSTEM, which stands for Out in Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM), they build networking skills and tinker with different technology, such as microcontrollers. He is most interested in the opportunities within OSTEM and Math Club because they are closely related to his major and will improve his resume. Math Club meets once a week to watch and listen to presentations on topics such as Applications of Divergence of the Harmonic Series, Continued Fractions and Fibonacci Numbers, and the Hausdorff Dimension. One of the reasons why McClardy enjoys this club is that “there isn’t a focus on one particular section of math, which can make it hard to understand, but it’s still enjoyable to see the process of thinking that was used to prove or disprove a topic.”

In addition to all of these clubs, McClardy was also able to secure an on campus job in the OPIM Department in the Gladstein Lab as a Student Lab Specialist. This job builds upon the knowledge he gained from his high school position as a Microsoft Office Instructor. As a Microsoft Office Instructor he gave presentations and helped students one on one to teach them how to use different programs in Microsoft Office. In order to get this position he needed to become certified in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Access, so that he could teach these skills to a class of 10-15 students. However McClardy was not satisfied with the average instructor certification, so he went on to get his MOS Specialist Master, which verifies that he earned two certifications in addition to two expert certifications for Excel Expert 2013, Word Expert 2013, Access 2013, and PowerPoint 2013.

Robert McClardy is wholeheartedly invested in the Computer Science and Math Statistics programs. “They’re both something that I don’t get bored of. When I think about working on them I don’t feel stressed. I feel more inspired to work on them even if I don’t know the solution.” Because of this inspiration he has thought of becoming a Database Administrator or going in to software development. No matter the choice, McClardy is sure to be an exceptional student through his remaining years at UConn and a stand out applicant when he begins the job search.

Nathan Hom, a junior Management and Engineering for Manufacturing (MEM) major, has made sure to leave his mark on the UConn community during his undergraduate career. Hom entered UConn in the undecided (ACES) track, bouncing around the ideas of  being a medical doctor, pharmacist, or an engineer. It wasn’t until after he attended open houses and sought out advice from upperclassmen that the thought of engineering, specifically MEM, crossed his mind. “Having a degree from both the School of Business and the School of Engineering allows you to leverage the knowledge between both and get a job in either field.” His dual degree will give him the power to choose whether he wants to take the business route or the engineering route once he starts looking at jobs in the near future, opening doors to two vastly different worlds of opportunities.

The MEM major is just one of the many opportunities that Hom has decided to take advantage of since attending UConn. “UConn is great when it comes to networking, funding, and involvement,” said Hom as he recounted his experience with his extracurricular activities. He has actively been involved in the Cyber Security Club, MEM Society, and the 3D printing club since his freshman year. The Cyber Security Club aims to teach members about the protection of computer systems, such as how passwords are cracked and how to have a secure password. Sometimes the club hosts “hacking” competitions where members test their skills from what they’ve learned in their weekly meetings, which directly relates to Hom’s studies through MEM. MEM Society is mostly a networking group that brings in speakers and recruiters to give insight and advice towards career opportunities in the future. On top of these three clubs, Hom is also a research assistant for the Mechanical Engineering Department and helps “fabricate a biodegradable and compatible sensor that can be implanted in living things for medical purposes.”  It was the MEM Society and the 3D printing club, which gives students resources, information, and access to 3D printers, that helped Nathan land his current position as a 3D Printing Specialist in the Operations and Information Management (OPIM) Department. As the 3D Printing Specialist he teaches students to use the printer, helps students print during walk in appointments, and tech kits. This job has helped him gain valuable experience in the field and will help him get jobs in the future.

Eager to see what his future holds, Hom is focusing on further developing his engineering and business skills to one day become a C-Suite Executive of a company.

Niraj Sharma is a Business Analytics and Project Management (BAPM) graduate student in the OPIM department who was able to see the benefits of a BAPM graduate degree after working for two years. Sharma began his career  as a test analyst at an international company called Tata Consultancy Services. Sharma’s job was to test capital market applications before they were released to the public. The process of testing was relatively manual, involving time consuming script writing, and Sharma realized this wasn’t the most effective use of his time. In an effort to improve efficiency, Sharma and his team introduced the concept of automation.  This digitized the script writing so the employees could save time and still make their clients happy. After showing his innovative skills and gaining valuable experience in the field, he was able to meet directors and, most importantly, business analysts.

“A business analyst is actually the one who is the messenger. They are in contact with the topmost people and they bring the information from the CEO and CFO to the people on the bottom. They understand both the business and the technical parts of the company.” It is because of Sharma’s innate interest in both the business and the technological aspects of stocks and capital that he decided to go back to school and get his graduate degree. BAPM will give Sharma the the tools to be successful on the technical side as well as on the management side, and the curriculum at UConn gives him the flexibility to direct his own path.

The flexibility to taking electives, such as Predictive Analytics and Business Statistics, was what attracted Sharma to the UConn’s BAPM program the most, broadening his horizon to a new world of opportunities. Through the program, Sharma was able to land an on campus job as a lab assistant in the Gladstein Lab, home of OPIM Innovate. This job is not only good for the experience, but it gave him the opportunity to take on the data analytics track which he helped to build from the ground up. “I like this job because it is similar to what I am learning (so I can explore) and I also love to work with technology.” Working in the lab exposes Sharma to a variety of new tools, including Splunk, an emerging platform in the field of analytics.  

Although Niraj has just begun his graduate program here at UConn, he has big plans for his future. After graduation, he wants to join a firm in the capital market domain because of the rapid growth the market is experiencing and the increase in consumer demand for these domains. However, this is not his ultimate goal. Sharma wants to climb the corporate ladder to become a chief technical officer in the capital market domain. As chief technical officer, he will guide the firm on which technologies to focus on in order to benefit the company in the future.

Tanya Malik is a senior majoring in Management Information Systems (MIS) here at UConn. Tanya is very active in the Operations and Information Management (OPIM) Department as a member in both the Information Management Association (IMA) and the Advisory Group for the OPIM Innovate Initiative.

As a member of IMA, Tanya said she attends many of the informative meetings on career building and networking events. Through her involvement in IMA, Tanya said she has had the opportunity to network with professionals in the MIS field and other MIS students at UConn.

“IMA provided me with the opportunity to network with  former UConn MIS students who have guided me to further pursue the MIS path,” Tanya said.

She said that the guidance of UConn MIS graduates now working in the field has helped her greatly in developing her future career path.

As an active member of the OPIM Advisory group, Tanya helps promote the OPIM Innovate Initiative by brainstorming ideas, providing feedback, and assisting in bringing new and emerging technology to students. Tanya said that her job is to test out the different technologies in the OPIM Department’s Innovation space and provide a personal account and recommendations on how to instruct students to use the technologies. Some of the technologies that Tanya has worked with as an advisor include the HTC Vive and 3D Printing.

There was rarely an OPIM Innovate event or workshop where Tanya was not in attendance this year. She said that her involvement in the Innovation space at the workshops helped her really grasp different aspects and new technologies in MIS. She said the workshops allowed her to learn about different career choices in the MIS field and the different technologies she will be working with.

Tanya said that the most interesting aspect of information technology for her is the fact that it is so broad, allowing her to learn more than just one skill.

“With information technology you are able to work with different technologies and are able to explore everything MIS has to offer,” Tanya said.

The MIS field is not monotonous, which is something she said she really likes about it. MIS professionals have the opportunity to learn and work with a bit of everything, such as software design, database design, data analytics and project management.

Tanya said her interest in MIS began when she took the OPIM 3103 (Business Information Systems) course and attended the Careers in Information Management and Business Analytics (CIMB event), as a Finance major at the time. At the CIMB event, panelists from the information technology field came to speak about their own experience in the field. She said it gave her insight into the vast amount of opportunities available in MIS. It was at this time that she said she had the realization that technology is and will always be all around us. And so began Tanya’s journey in the MIS major.

During her time in the MIS program, Tanya said she has learned many technical skills, as well as soft skills. Some skills that she learned throughout her coursework include how to analyze data, create databases and learn coding language.

Although not directly related to the MIS major, two other important skills Tanya said she developed during her time at UConn – public speaking and teamwork. She said being involved in countless group projects and presentations allowed her to build these soft skills that will be extremely beneficial to her in her career.

As for her advice for younger MIS students, Tanya said to take advantage of internship opportunities as soon as possible to find out exactly what area of MIS you are interested in taking your career. Tanya highly encouraged those who are still considering the MIS major to pursue it.

“Because of the broadness and newness of the major, the possibilities are endless for what you can do with the degree. You’re always going to be learning about new innovative technology and how it can be implemented in a business setting,” Tanya said.

Another big advantage of the MIS field is job security, she said. Because of our capitalistic society, Tanya said that we will always have businesses and technology with the need for someone to bridge that gap.

Tanya will be graduating in just a few weeks and she said she plans to work in her family’s business for a year before applying for a business analyst position at UnitedHealth Group.

“My ultimate goal is to be a part of an organization that allows me to keep learning and gain more experience and help me develop my skills further,” Tanya said.

Maggie Quackenbush is a senior majoring in Management Information Systems (MIS) at UConn, but the story of her college journey is a bit different from others in the major. Maggie started out as an Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) major and it wasn’t until her junior year that she switched to MIS.

She said she made the switch because she felt she was not being challenged enough academically in the HDFS program. She said she had no exact career plans in HDFS, which was another factor in her decision to change her major.

So began her search for a different career path. Maggie said she missed taking math classes so she researched different majors within the Math Department, the Business School and the Computer Science Department. Maggie said she found MIS to be the perfect combination of all of her interests.

“Once I found MIS, I decided it would be perfect for me since I could learn so many new things and I felt like it bridged the gap between my technical interests and Psychology, because I’m able to apply technology to business contexts in a way that helps people and aligns well with the way they think,” Maggie said.

She said she has always been very interested in technology. Maggie said that when she was younger she taught herself how to code HTML and that she has always loved playing video games. On top of that, Maggie said she loves to be creative with technology. She said that MIS provides her with many opportunities to use creativity, for example in the ways she approaches certain problems within technology, designing interfaces, and front-end development.

The reason Maggie is so interested in technology is because it is always changing, allowing her to constantly be challenged, she said. A career in information technology will allow her to be challenged even beyond college while simultaneously working to help people, Maggie said, which is exactly what she wants out of a career.

“Technology has such potential to help people in their everyday lives in addition to solving bigger problems that we can’t solve on our own,” Maggie said.

As a graduating senior, Maggie said she feels fully prepared to start her career due to her experience at UConn. She said that the MIS program has given her all of the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in a job. Another skill that she attributes to her time at UConn is the ability to find her place and get involved in such a large environment. She said that this is a skill she is glad to have as she enters into the working world.

“In a big company, it won’t always feel like you really matter in the big picture, but my time at UConn has taught me how to make sure that I am a part of the big picture,” she said.

As for her advice to students just starting out in MIS, Maggie said to take advantage of the wide range of opportunities that MIS has to offer.

“If you’re interested in something and there isn’t a related elective offered, you should still stick with that interest and look for online open source courses or even just watch TedTalks on the subject,” Maggie said.

MIS is a great field, she said, but because it is so broad, she suggests figuring out exactly what it is within the field that you are interested in. She said that if you can narrow your focus and pursue a career with that focus in mind, it will be easier to find a job that you love after you graduate.

After graduation, Maggie hopes to begin a job that aligns with her interests and skills. She said she is primarily looking into rotational programs, where she has the option to work in a few different areas, such as cyber security, development, or data analytics.

Eventually, Maggie hopes to attend graduate school for something relating to User Experience and Interface Design for video games.

She said that her dream job would be to create video games for children with special needs to help them in some way. She said for example, she could create a virtual reality experience for Autistic children who get overwhelmed in social situations. She said her idea for the game would expose them to virtual social settings to increase their comfort and ability to deal with those situations. Another idea she mentioned was an educational video game focused on helping students who are struggling in school with specific learning needs.

“Anything that involves using technology in a way that makes people’s lives better would make me feel successful in this field,” Maggie said.

After taking classes on computer science in high school, Nathan Nye knew he wanted to pursue a college degree that incorporated business with computers. At the start of his college career here at UConn, Nathan visited HuskyTech for an issue with his computer, where he learned of the Management Information Systems (MIS) major.

For Nathan, he is intrigued by information technology because it is constantly changing and evolving. He said he is always learning something new in this field because the constant change forces him to keep up with new technologies and challenges.

“There are so many different ways to go about solving a problem with technology so it allows you to be creative in finding a solution,” Nathan said.

Nathan said that the UConn School of Business does a great job at allowing students to individualize their plans of study to reflect their personal interests, along with the business curriculum. He said that he enjoyed being able to take a variety of music and computer science courses because of his interests in audio and programming.

As a senior, Nathan has acquired a variety of internship experiences over the course of his time here at UConn. But unlike many MIS majors, Nathan’s internships have been primarily with small companies or startups.

Nathan said he believes that working for smaller companies was extremely beneficial for him, personally. He said that smaller companies can generally adapt to new technologies and change direction quicker. He liked the small business environment because it allowed him to work with cutting edge technologies and a diverse set of tasks each day.

In his most recent internship experience at COCC, Nathan worked on website configuration for various financial institutions.

“It was cool being able to say I worked on anything from configuration changes to sites where millions of dollars are transacted daily to helping potential clients with branding and design,” Nathan said.

Nathan encourages all current MIS students to obtain internship experiences over the course of their college careers. He said that work outside of the classroom allows for building a diverse skill set.

“Think about something you really enjoy doing and think about the skills you would need to run that as a business by yourself,” he said.

A piece of advice Nathan offered from his own experience when looking for internships is to ask about the possibility of working remote. COCC allowed Nathan to continue his summer internship during the school year because the company had the capabilities to enable him to work from anywhere, he said. Continuing this internship through the school year has been even more beneficial for him because it allowed him to work on even larger tasks because he was already acclimated with the company, he said.

After graduation, Nathan hopes to dive deeper into programming for web-based applications. Nathan said that he and his brother are planning to start their own audio company to build synthesizers in the form of guitar pedals to simplify performances for drone musicians.

“I like the idea of being self sufficient and being able to create your own job after graduating,” Nathan said.

He said he is currently learning to program in PureData.  His goal is to implement PureData patching to his company’s devices in order to create highly complex sonic textures.

“My ultimate goal in the field is to be able to say that I used computers and technology to build something that truly helped someone,” Nathan said.