When I first came to visit Syracuse University, I was interested in business. I took my tour over at Whitman and I liked it, the building was nice, and I could see myself there – but I didn’t feel any spark yet.
A parent of a current student at SU suggested that I check out the iSchool. As a child and through my teenage years I was always very savvy with technology. I was the kid that would rather be playing computer games than sitting in front of the TV. I walked into the iSchool completely blind to the effect it would have on me.
I took my tour, and that was it. The firework went off and I knew this was the right school for me. I could pair my interest and passion for technology with pretty much anything else out there.
The It Girls experience …
A Twitter photo of Emily Kellman and a fellow It Girl posted to #ItGirlsRock during the 2013 It Girls Overnight Retreat.
I participated in the It Girls Overnight Retreat following the iSchool tour I went on, which only pushed me more into the arms of the iSchool family. I not only met amazing people and friends that I still have today, but I got to see what it was like to be in a room with people who have the same interests and passions as me.
I thought to myself “This is what my classes could be like the next four years.” I sat in a lab and worked alongside other girls my age and analyzed big data. This whole “big data” concept was new to me. Now, I work with large amounts of data to create and edit databases in my classes.
The It Girls Overnight Retreat had a large impact in me choosing the iSchool, which is why I decided to become involved with the It Girls Alumnae group when coming to campus. I started off as a member who attended meetings and events to meet and rekindle friendships with the other It Girls on campus.
Each fall we hand write invitations to high school women and extend our iSchool welcome to them as hopefully future It Girls and members of the iSchool community. Last semester I sat as the project manager on the executive board, spending time planning events for the It Girls and other iSchool women on campus.
Where I am today …
Fall 2014 came around and I was off to my first day of IST 195 with all of my freshman classmates. My passion for technology and the iSchool only continued to grow with the classes I took and the new knowledge I learned all about networking, web design, project management and so much more. A few of my favorite iSchool class projects have included: re-designing the Syracuse Zoo website, creating a system and solution for a “real-life” client who was transferring all of their business data from hardcopy to digital, as well as spending a semester long designing a data base and manipulating the data for a mock company and all of its employees.
I am currently a peer advisor in the iSchool and get to share my love and passion with incoming freshman and help them adjust during their first few semesters in the iSchool as well as with prospective students by giving them tours and telling them my story.
Each and every time I give a tour or talk to a prospective student and their family, I rediscover my love for the iSchool. My classes have continued to surprise me with new knowledge and new passions as well.
When one major just simply isn’t enough …
When taking classes in the iSchool I realized that there was so much more to them aside from the technology itself. Each class included different aspects of communications and business. This is when I decided to pick up a minor in each of these areas. I have a public communications minor in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications as well as a marketing minor in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management.
What’s to come …
I have the ability to meld all my knowledge together and place myself into many different industries, while still manipulating the technology I love. This summer I have an opportunity to do exactly this. I landed an internship at A+E Networks in their IT department, which combines my digital media and communications passion with my love for technology. A+E Networks is a global digital entertainment company, that owns and operates six different TV networks and brands. These brands include: A&E, Lifetime, History, FYI, LMN and Viceland. I am more than excited to combine my classroom experiences and knowledge with real life work in a field that is both interesting and exciting.
