Professional Development
Professional Development Activities
AIS Mentorship Program
As a member of Temple University’s Association for Information Systems, I was informed on the organization’s mentorship program. This program allows involved MIS students to mentor an underclassmen MIS major. The mentorship program involved three meetings between the mentor and mentee to discuss the MIS department, curriculum, and PRO points system. During these meetings, I assisted the mentee by sharing my personal experience and knowledge as an MIS major. I also helped the mentee by walking her through a variety of activities, such as building a schedule for her upcoming semester, planning ways to meet the MIS curriculum requirements, and discussing ways to get more involved in the department.
This was an interesting experience as an MIS professional because it allowed me to reflect on all I have learned so far in my college career. I was able to really understand how much information and experience I have gathered at Temple and through the various professional development experiences I have been involved in. It was a very rewarding and introspective experience for me, and I hope to continue being involved in this program in the upcoming semesters. All in all, I learned that most experiences truly are what you make of them, and I plan on continuing to make the most of my time here at Temple.
Temple University Analytics Challenge
During the 2019 fall semester, I had the opportunity to compete in the 7th Annual Temple University Analytics Challenge. Two classmates and I tackled the question, “What makes rare disease clinical trials successful?”, which was sponsored by Alexion Pharmaceuticals. Alexion provided a very large dataset with rare disease clinical trial information. Our group was then instructed to analyze that large dataset using data analysis techniques learned in our various MIS courses. The analysis involved cleaning the data, looking for correlations between successful trials, and creating data visualizations to communicate our findings. After weeks of analysis, we discovered that trials that yield results are more often funded by industry alone, which we then communicated to Alexion through a variety of infographics.
This challenge was extremely engaging for me, as I was able to apply many of the skills I learned in my MIS courses to a real-life example of data analysis. It was eyeopening to see data analysis methodologies applied in a holistic manner rather than engaging with each MIS concept distinctly and separately. It was also a great opportunity to learn how to work on a project with a team. I learned how to delegate important responsibilities to ensure the project was completed timely and with quality.
IT Webinar – Changing of the Paradigms: Control Test Automation
In June of 2020, I participated in an IT related webinar titled “Changing of the Paradigms: Control Test Automation”. This MIS department-sponsored webinar featured Jarred B. Bernstein and Greg Haberer, two current Grant Thornton employees that work in Advisory Services. Bernstein and Haberer spoke on the new market for an automated approach to managing risk and control tests. They explained the current limitations most companies have in terms of automation, as they do not have the internal capabilities to make such a shift from manual to automated, as well as ways Grant Thornton has been working around these limitations for clients. This experience also included a question and answer session, which allowed me to learn more about the specific limitations companies when trying to move to control test automation.
I found this webinar to be extremely interesting, specifically to a current MIS student. Prior to this webinar, I had very little experience with control test automation. Attending this webinar allowed me to become more informed about those processes, which actually sparked quite a bit of interest on my end, as I’ve never imagined myself moving into that field until now. It was also very interesting because I was able to see how MIS professionals think and act in a work setting, which will always be valuable information for upcoming professionals.