Staying connected with IST alumni
by Stephanie Koons and Katie Moffitt
We caught up with several IST alumni who are taking on challenges that make a difference in the world, solving problems, working with people, and connecting them with information through the use of technology. Here are their stories:
Jessica Boorshtein, IST 2004, Google
People who are unfamiliar with IST may assume that its students and alumni are “techno geeks” who spend all their time in front of computers. But although alumnus Jessica Boorshtein works for one of the top technology companies in the world, her job requires interpersonal skills as much as technical knowledge.
Boorshtein is a sales strategy and operations manager for the display advertising team of Google Inc. in New York City. Her role entails streamlining operations, project management, and ensuring sales readiness and project coordination.
Boorshtein started her Penn State career as a computer science major but switched to IST upon realizing that she didn’t want to be a computer programmer and being drawn to the business and social aspects of technology. “I really like working in technology and I feel that IST married my two interests,” she said.
A lot of the skills that Boorshtein learned in class, she said, including consulting and database management, translate to her current position at Google. “IST taught me a lot of tangible skills that I’ve been able to apply to the business world,” she said.
In her position at Google, Boorshtein works cross-functionally with different teams to launch products. It can be challenging, she added, to work in a “consensus-driven company,” so effective communication is an important key to success.
“I think Google is a really dynamic and fun place to work,” she said. “I realize that it’s sort of important to wake up every day and like what you do.”
Marc Friedenberg, B.S. & M.S. IST 2006, Quinn Emanuel, Inc.
As with most fields today, advances in technology have changed the way that law is practiced. For Marc Friedenberg, a strong technical background has opened many doors in the legal world.
Friedenberg is a lawyer at Quinn Emanuel in NYC, where he works on cases involving securities, patents, and other business disputes. A graduate of Columbia Law School, he specializes in electronic discovery (e-discovery), in which electronic data is sought, located, secured, and searched with the intent of using it as evidence in a civil or criminal legal case.
“E-discovery is all about the intersection of people and technology,” Friedenberg said. “Everything we do, basically, is an investigation of the past.”
Friedenberg’s interest in law was ignited when he took a course taught by cyber law expert John Bagby called “Legal and Regulatory Environment for E-Commerce.” In the class, he learned about the different court systems and the concept of intellectual property. “You really get a sense of what law school is like,” he said. “And you’re not going to find that in computer science (classes).”
Friedenberg said his IST degree was an asset when applying to law schools. A lot of work at law firms now requires technical knowledge, such as understanding databases and Web scripting.
Lawyers often try to win a case based on information found in documents, Friedenberg explained, and that is where e-discovery comes into play. While the method is tremendously helpful in obtaining evidence, the amount of information acquired can be overwhelming. To address this, Friedenberg uses a system that can help find similar documents across an entire database, which is helpful for finding categories of documents.
“My favorite part of the job is talking to clients and letting them know that we’ve addressed all of their concerns and provided the best solution for them,” he said.
Sydney Klein, IST 2008, Citi Corp.
Growing up, Sydney Klein always dreamed of a fast-paced city life. After graduating, she began paving her way to NYC in Citi’s Technology Leadership Program in Cards – IT in Jacksonville, Florida.
Rising quickly through the ranks at Citi, Klein worked in Citi’s Ops Analyst program and then a project management role within operations at Citi. Now she finds herself working for Citi’s Risk Management group on their trading floor. Her floor focuses specifically on equities.
“Nothing at Citi seems like busy work,” said Klein. “The environment is fast paced and exciting and there is always something going on.”
Klein enjoys working on projects that are challenging and beneficial to her firm, especially helping groups that have a specific problem, question or issue. She employs skills learned at IST to mitigate risk and develop processes to complete her daily tasks.
“I never thought I’d be working at a bank, but my project management skills, analytical skills, and technical skills from IST have helped me in all four positions that I’ve held at Citi to date,” said Klein. “I always said that IST would help me in any career path that I chose.”
Ryan Schaaf, IST 2010, Joint Interagency Task Force-South
When Ryan Schaaf began his studies, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do after graduation. An internship at Penn State’s Applied Research Laboratory during his junior year opened the door to a career in which he helps keep the United States safe from drug trafficking.
Schaaf is a research and development engineer with the Applied Research Laboratory, which was established by the U.S. Navy in 1945 and provides solutions to problems in national security, economic competitiveness, and quality of life. Since graduation, Schaaf has been an on-site engineer at Joint Interagency Task Force-South in Key West, Fla. According to its website, JIATF South “conducts interagency and international Detection & Monitoring operations, and facilitates the interdiction of illicit trafficking and other narco-terrorist threats in support of national and partner nation security.”
ARL is commissioned by JIATF South to do research and provide technical expertise and training, Schaaf said. ARL engineers provide JIATF South operators and analysts with tools to help stop the flow of illicit narcotics.
“We’re using technology to give operators a situational awareness of what’s going on,” he said.
Schaaf said that he credits IST professor John Daughtry with helping him land the internship at ARL, which led to his job offer at JIATF South. The College of IST not only provided him with a strong technical background, he said, but also with interpersonal and customer service skills that are required in his position.
“You’re that person that can speak with everybody, take in everything, and give people that product that’s exactly what they wanted,” he said.
The job is not without challenges, however. It can be difficult to navigate security barriers and produce high-quality results in a very fast-paced environment, Schaaf said. In addition, advances in technology are constantly changing the procedures of his job.
“It’s always changing and it’s always something different,” he said. “That is the best part of it, hands down.”
Michael Cermak, IST 2005, Tech Support Guy
Some people might take offense at being called a “computer nerd,” but Michael Cermak (IST ’05), wears the label proudly. While still in his early teens, he was sought out by friends, family members and strangers for his expertise. Now a self-described “full-time computer nerd,” he owns and operates a website that provides free technical support to over half a million computer users of all experience levels.
Cermak, of Chambersburg, Pa., started Tech Support Guy in 1996, at the age of 14. The site, which currently has nearly 605,000 users, has been mentioned in several publications, including Money Magazine, Computer Shopper, and PC World. Cermak also appears on the “Computer America” radio show every month on the Business TalkRadio Network.
In addition to running Tech Support Guy, Cermak owns a computer consultation company, Cermak Technologies, Inc., that provides networking and computer services for businesses in the Waynesboro and Chambersburg areas. He is in the process of opening a second location of Cermak Technologies in Hagerstown, Md.
While Cermak had received certification in computer programming subjects through online courses and was running two businesses, he wanted to obtain a college degree “to have something to fall back on.” While he originally enrolled in the computer science program at Penn State, Cermak said, “I just couldn’t see myself sitting at a computer, spitting out code all day.” The interdisciplinary nature of IST was more appealing to him.
“You have to be looking at things in theories as well as systems,” he said. “IST helped me to develop skills and helped me to focus on the different parts of all these (computer) systems.”
Tech Support Guy has a variety of clientele, Cermak said, including computer programmers and web developers, but the vast majority is everyday users. He aims to create a friendly site with a philosophy of “no stupid questions.”
Luis Valbuena, IST 2003, Entrepreneur
For Luis Valbuena, a successful career requires several components: a well-rounded education, tenacity, and, perhaps most importantly, passion.
Valbuena works as an account executive at IBM in New York City, where he sells social business and collaboration software to the state and local governments of New York. “Really, I look at a position in sales as preparation for an executive (position), and, dare I say it, a C-level executive,” Valbuena said.
As an entrepreneur, Valbuena’s interests extend beyond computer software. In May 2007, he founded Well Done Entertainment Corporation, a record label/artist management firm, in Long Island City, NY, where he lives. He also serves as sales and marketing director for Noisemaker Media, a video production/media firm based out of Brooklyn, NY.
“I think when you have a passion for something, you’ll find your way through it” he said.
“I was interested in technology, but I didn’t want to end up as the guy behind the computer all day programming” he said.
When Valbuena entered IST in its inaugural year, he took advantage of the academic opportunities that the College had to offer. During the first two years of the undergraduate program, he said, IST students take a lot of foundational courses. In the final two years of their studies, they branch out and learn how technical knowledge can be applied to industry. A lot of emphasis is placed on presentation and communication skills, which he said he uses in his current position when dealing with the bureaucracy of government and the United Nations.
“My advice is not to expect the knowledge, the experience that the school offers to just plug into you automatically” Valbuena said. “Even if what you are learning doesn’t apply to your life at that moment, you have to look at it as arsenal for your bag that can be used in your career down the road. There has to be some measure of faith in the education you are receiving."
“I’ll always appreciate the foundation IST helped build for me and credit the College as one of the key ingredients in my successes,” he said.
