Binh Tran

Saraya Hyder, a former MIS student came back at the IT Awards 2012 to accept an award for Student Achievement. She currently works at Deloitte as a Business Technology Analyst (BTA) after her graduation on January 2012. In order to achieve a good job in her career, she had to work really hard during school and participated in many associations such as AIS and Gamma Iota Sigma. Aside from that, she also attended to one of the MIS classes called Co-Op Experience where she had a great opportunity to intern for Lockheed Martin in the summer of 2010. She improved her leadership skills through this internship and was a Teaching Assistant for Professors Mart Doyle, Doug Schutz, Than Lam, and Richard Flanagan. Saraya worked very hard and she deserves this honor.

I had the great opportunity to ask her a couple of questions below:

Q: As a former MIS student, how did you feel when you receive the MIS Student Achievement Award?

A: It was truly an honor winning the award. It’s always a great feeling to be recognized for all of the hard work that I put in when I was a student. It makes you realized that the department truly does care and that you aren’t just another nameless student.

Q: How has MIS helped you to achieve your career now?

A: When applying for my current position, I learned that it wasn’t just my grades that companies cared about. It was also experience, leadership, and overall knowledge. By being an MIS major, I was able to gain knowledge throughout the curriculum, especially during the capstone class but being an MIS student also assisted in the other criteria. At my first IT Awards ceremony I attended, I met someone that connected me with the manager of my internship at Lockheed Martin. As for improving my leadership skills, I gained experience through being a Teacher’s Assistant for Mart Doyle, Doug Schutz, Than Lam, and Richard Flanagan at one time or another.

Q: How often do you use technology in your work-place and why is technology important in the work-place?

A: At Deloitte, I am a business technology analyst (BTA), meaning that I am in an entry level position and possess technology skills. Although, my current role is not extremely technically compared to what other BTAs are doing, I do work with excel and other programs on a daily basis. However, in the future, I could be in a role that would involve implementing technologies, coding, maintenance of technologies, etc.

Q: What is your advice to the students?

A: As a recent alumni, most people’s advice to me tends to be “network, network, network.” However, in my opinion, as great as networking might be, it is truly your work that speaks for you and those connections you make that truly benefit your network. So, my advice to students would be advice I actually received my Junior year and always try to live by – “Just say yes.” What I mean by this is no matter what the opportunity is that someone is offering to you, just say “yes.” A lot of people think too much in the moment and how boring or hard the task is or just how they don’t have the time but it is those moments that you are truly recognized for assisting those around you. So, whether it be a teacher asking for a helping hand, a boss, or just some person you happened to meet at an event, by saying yes, you open a whole new set of doors for yourself and by doing that, you aren’t just another person that someone shook hands but rather, a person that is known for going the extra mile even when the task isn’t always the greatest.

Saraya mentioned that being an MIS major has allowed her to be able to gain knowledge throughout the curriculum, especially during the capstone classes. Students should take her advice and saying “yes” to any opportunities because it will open different doors for you in the future.