IBIT Mentoring Program
During the Fall semester of 2023, the Institute for Business and Information Technology gave me the opportunity to participate in its mentoring program, where students are matched with experienced senior executives who provide guidance and coaching to students, such as providing ideas and feedback. My mentor was Craig Conway, the current Global Head of Modern Banking Technology and Delivery at FIS. I had two meetings with Craig where we had conversations about his experience in the corporate world and my experiences as a student. During one of our meetings, we talked at length about the implementation of AI in the corporate workplace when I told him about my worries about becoming a data analyst due to the possibility of being replaced by AI. He mentioned that since corporations will always need people to utilize data and there is still a lot of work to be done to improve AI, it would take years before I could lose a data analyst job and I shouldn’t let that be something that scares me away from that job if it’s what I want to pursue.
Craig also helped me get into the mindset that no matter what path I decide to go down with my MIS degree, I should do my best to be a helpful resource to those I work with. Throughout his corporate experience, he told me that one thing that helped him succeed was that he always tried to learn more about new technologies and that by learning from others, he was able to gain a wide breadth of technical experience. He offered a piece of advice: “Try to be the person people go to when they need help.”
The mentorship program helped me understand that I can learn a lot from the people around me by listening to their feedback. Having a professional mentor reassure me about my career path and offer me specific advice on how to succeed was very beneficial to me personally and professionally. It was a pleasure to talk to and listen to Craig about his personal and professional life, and to hear his thoughts on my concerns and worries about tech. Overall, the IBIT mentoring program was an amazing opportunity that helped me make progress in my professional development.