Dan Marino

I graduated from the School of Information Studies with a B.S. in Information Management and Technology in 1997. The program helped me succeed in my eight year career because it enabled me to build my knowledge in not only technology, but also management and communications. All three of these skills packaged together give me an edge over much of the competition who focused on just one area of business or technology.

I took an immediate liking to the management based courses. IST brought out my communication and leadership skills, and it was apparent that this would be where to focus my technology career.

The internship program was also extremely beneficial to me. By the end of my sophomore year I had lined up a paid internship in NYC for the summer at an office products company. There I walked right into a bottom up situation. I had the opportunity to help the company go from old terminals to PC's. This was an exciting experience as I was able to use the knowledge I had obtained from my first couple of years in IST and apply it to a real life scenario. I was able to learn the basics about how computers operate, and how each person in a company would have a different use for the applications provided. I returned to the same company during my junior year and interned for a semester and summer. This time I gained experience building databases and reports for the sales department.

Add up the technology-management based courses and the internships and IST has allowed me to continually move forward in my career. I now work as a Senior Project Manager in the Financial Services Industry in New York City. My position entails managing small and large scale technology projects for the equities, fixed income, investment banking, accounting and compliance groups. I am managing a team of developers, database managers, infrastructure professionals and business analysts. I regularly communicate deliverables and progress to senior management staff, and focus on keeping projects on schedule and on budget.

Many of the responsibilities I have today were covered in my courses in IST. All of my successes to date have a direct connection from my education. After eight years in the work environment, I am seeing the impact that IST has made on me, and how I have learned how to interact around a world that will continually be enhanced by cutting edge technology.

Students and alumni are welcome to contact me at Dan@WishboneINC.com