Morgan Zantua, Program Manager
Last week Clark Ngo wrote his first and last message from leadership. I relished reading about his journey into technology at CityU and wondered how many of our students will follow in his footsteps. While we will all miss his many contributions, the faculty at STC recommends students do what Clark did. Clark took advantage of every opportunity that came his way. He presented regularly at the Tech Club, honing his presentation and communication skills on a weekly basis. He wrote papers and collaborated with his professors, presented at every opportunity, going the extra mile to achieve his goals. Clark keeps a strong LinkedIn presence and has his own YouTube Channel. He pushed himself to go to Meet-Ups, built his professional network, and find mentors, as well as mentor others.
In the past 14 months, Dean Chung re-designed the Technology Institute into the School of Technology & Computing. Every quarter, we have invited talks, weekly Tech Club meetings, and starting in Spring Quarter, we are rolling out the Cybersecurity Club with a Byte of Cyber. By the way, if you would like to get involved in the Cybersecurity Club, contact David Yi.
I want to challenge every STC student to step up and get involved in what STC has to offer. Our online framework allows you to take part in our events without commuting. If you cannot attend an event in-person, watch the recordings. Learn from your fellow students. What the CAE Forums and learn about the latest innovations in cybersecurity technology. Assess what the other students are presenting and go out of your way to do a presentation at Tech Club. We all want to be successful. Don’t wait until your last quarter to present during your capstone. Start now and get involved.
One more suggestion – read. Right now, I am enjoying a book Clark recommended: Netflix: Rules No Rules.
Let’s start off by telling us about your career path that brought you to where you are today.
Kendra: Hi Radana, thank you so much for having me! I would say my love for Information Technology started when I was a pre-teen and, with age, I became much more passionate about the subject. I wanted to be involved in a field where my work was challenging and made a difference. I started my educational career at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and graduated in 2005 with a B.S. in Business Administration with a Concentration in Computer Information Systems. Upon graduation I worked for 4-years at Bank of America as a Developer/Project Manager/Business Analyst – let’s just say I wore a lot of hats.
While I was working at BOA, I decided to go back to school for my MBA and I chose CityU. I graduated with my MBA with a Concentration in Project Management in 2012. During the latter part of my education at CityU, I became Ms. Wheelchair Washington 2011 and I worked as a Project Manager Analyst at the SanMar Corporation in Issaquah. In 2014, I decided to move out of the Seattle area and ended up taking a job at a small company, Monoprice, in Southern California. I finally ended up settled in 2015 when my husband and I moved to San Antonio, Texas. During my time in San Antonio, I’ve worked for United Healthcare, Harland Clarke Holdings, and USAA. I love my current role as Technical Project Manager, Senior at USAA. I feel that I not only have the freedom to make decisions, but I also feel that the work I do helps our members of the armed forces and their families.
Radana: Thank you, you sound very passionate about what you do, great to see. Why did you decide to pursue a DIT and why did you choose CityU?
Kendra: I decided to pursue a DIT because I felt like I still had more to learn. In the world of IT, things are constantly changing and you must stay on top of those changes to be successful. The DIT program at CityU looked very appealing to me because I had done my MBA at CityU and I absolutely loved the way the classes were structured. Online classes can be hard if they don’t have structure and I’ve always felt that CityU provides great structure to their classes and lays out in detail the expectations for the students. I also really liked that CityU had the option to have a customized emphasis. My current role at USAA deals extensively with compliance as well as project management of those compliance efforts. I really felt that a customized emphasis in cybersecurity and project management would be ideal for me. It would give me the opportunity to learn more about a field that I’m interested in while still ensuring it aligned with my career objectives.
Radana: The DIT is indeed designed to support candidates to ‘sculpture’ a path that best aligns with their career plans – a real strength of the program. Thank you for highlighting it. What’s one thing you wish you had known when you began your career?
According to the National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC), “Service-learning is a philosophy, pedagogy, and model for community development that is used as an instructional strategy to meet learning goals and/or content standards.” Service-learning is classified into volunteerism, community service, internship, and field education (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service-learning). The MSCS program has explored how to make CS 687 Capstone Project meaningful for student learning. For this purpose, the MSCS program has worked with a nonprofit organization as a pilot project through volunteerism and/or community service since Fall 2020. Five students (2 in fall and 3 in winter) have been involved in this initiative. As a result, one student took an Optional Practical Training (OPT) program in winter. Three students will take their capstone projects in spring through field education after earning their acquaintance in winter. The MSCS will seek more connections with nonprofits.
Registration for NCL 2021 Spring Season is still open until Mar. 5th, 11:59 pm EST (8:59 pm PST). You don’t have to be enrolled in the BSCY or MSCY programs to join. The first 10 CityU STC students who sign up & complete the competition will be reimbursed for their $35 entrance fee. REGISTER HERE
The Tech Group and the Cybersecurity Club will meet Thursdays from 4 pm to 5 pm (PST) via Teams: STC Clubs & Research Groups Weekly Meeting – Winter Quarter. For students or faculty who would like to present, choose a date and upload your presentation HERE
The STC Cybersecurity Club is revising the club offerings to support the student journey to become a cyber-savvy professional. The Cyber Club is open to all CityU students and alumni. Complete this survey.
This month Dr. Dimitrios Damopoulos, University of South Alabama, presents on Security and Trustworthiness of Modern Cyber-physical Systems. Available both live, real-time, and online members, all forums are recorded and available to the CAE Community. The CAE community gives non-technical presentations on topics of value to the CAE Community. Forums are held the first Wednesday of each month from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EST (11:00 am PST). Recordings of the presentation are available within 48 hours (about 2 days) of the presentation at HERE
What does the Homebrew Computer Club, Steve Wozniak, and an Apple have in common?
On March 1, 1976, the very first circuit board for an ‘easy to use’ personal computer, designed by Steve Wozniak, was first showed at the Homebrew Computer Club. Steve Jobs was there, and quickly convinced Wozniak not to give away the schematics but produce the circuit board and sell it. The two ‘Steves’ formed the Apple Computer Company, and built the Apple I. Couple years later, they renamed the company to Apple Computer Inc. and an ‘apple’ took on a whole new meaning.
Skills Needed For A Career In Cybersecurity – Jonathan Helmus