IST Identity Talks - First-Generation Students
Date & Time: November 08, 2023 from 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
Location: Zoom
A panel of IST alumni will come together to talk about being a first-generation college student. Listen as they discuss their College of IST experience, their careers, and how being first-generation students impacted their journey.
About the Panelists
Diana Long ’04,’08g
Diana came to Penn State from Brooklyn, New York. As an undergraduate student, she was active in the National Hispanic Business Association and sat on the executive board of the Sigma Lambda Gamma national sorority. Diana earned a master’s degree at Penn State Great Valley while working as a senior business systems analyst and quality assurance test lead at Vanguard. She currently serves as a senior director at General Atlantic, where she is responsible for IT project portfolio management.
Denise Dagadu ’14
Denise earned bachelor’s degrees in information sciences and technology and economics from Penn State. As an undergraduate student, she was a resident assistant, grading assistant, web coordinator and peer mentor for EmpowerU, fundraising chair for the Black Student Union, and recruitment chair for UNICEF PSU. She currently serves as a a go-to-market (GTM) strategy manager at Google. Her prior experience includes GTM and consulting positions at Square, fifty-five, and Deloitte.
James Rowley ’16
James is a first-generation Penn State graduate hailing from Minnesota. He earned a bachelor’s degree in security and risk analysis with the cybersecurity option. He currently serves as a data and detection engineer at Yahoo! There, the self-described data detective works on threat detection and response, keeping an eye on insider threats while also crafting the next-generation insider threat detection framework.
Noel Claudio ‘14
Noel is a first-generation Latino from Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic. Raised in Philadelphia, he earned a bachelor’s degree in information sciences and technology with a minor in security risk and analysis. Since graduating, he has worked for multiple fortune 100 companies, providing expertise in project management, agile delivery, process improvement, and strategy and operations. He currently resides in San Francisco where he works as a program manager for a large tech company.