The School of IST and the IST Student Government teamed up April 11 for the school's first spring student field trip. The student chosen destination for 2003 was New York City. Thirty-five students and four members of the IST staff boarded along before dawn and headed to New York for an all-day event which included guided tours and sightseeing.
The students of IST were eager to see technology at work—and they did. They were exposed to the inner workings of Sirius Satellite Radio. Hosted by Mindy Kramer, senior director of corporate communications, and José Mangin, programming coordinator, the students not only were given an overview of how Sirius started and what it does, but they also were provided a tour of the Sirius facility and allowed to sit in on a recording session that aired later that evening.
The next stop on the 2003 tour was CBS Broadcasting. Rick Soloman, director of production management for CBS showed the students what is was like behind the scenes of television production. The students toured three studios including Black Entertainment Television’s 106 and Park, CBS News Sunday Morning, and the CBS Sports desk. They also were taken through prop rooms and control booths.
Switching from entertainment to finance, at third and final stop the students caught a glimpse of the hustle and bustle of the financial district and a trading floor at Goldman, Sachs & Co. Robert Puhak, director for information technology at Goldman and a Penn State alumnus, introduced the students to Goldman Sachs IT managers and exposed them to the many roles of technology in the financial industry.
"The IST trip to New York City was extremely valuable. It provided students with a perspective on what corporations are currently using as far as technology is concerned. It also allowed them to see the use across multiple industries," Paul Horn, past president of the IST student government said. "I personally enjoyed Sirius Satellite Radio because this particular market is not something that we hear about every day. We were able to see all of the sound processing equipment and the overall technology use of a satellite radio company."
While in New York the students also spent time at the South Street Seaport, World Trade Center site, and in Times Square.
The IST 2004 tour is still in the early stages of planning, but the student government is looking at Washington, D.C.; Pittsburgh; and Philadelphia as possible destinations.
