MSIS Summer Alumni Panel
Foster UW Alumni Bat a 1000 at the MSIS 550 Leadership Lecture Series
Students from the Master of Science in Information Systems Program class of 2019 welcomed a heavy-weight industry leadership panel during their MSIS 550 course last Saturday.
Five-fifty is one of the most anticipated courses in the program’s 12-month schedule. It is a professional development course series that provides students opportunities to learn from industry leaders, hone in-demand skills, and more.
In this session, MSIS Faculty Director, Ming Fan, moderated a lively discussion with six MSIS alums who shared their journeys from graduate student to business leader.
The panel served as a back-stage pass to some of the hottest companies in Seattle. The guest alumni going back to the Class of 2013 have set roots in the Seattle market with Amazon, EY, F5 Networks, Microsoft, and Nordstrom. They discussed their professional roles, predictions on upcoming IT trends, and answered questions.
When asked how to be successful in the workplace, one alumnus provided a story about how he likes to buy his new colleagues a Coke. Laughing, he explained that even if they don’t like Coke, they appreciate the gesture; a key part of his success has been his effort to simply “be nice.”
The MSIS degree allows professionals to plug into different roles and different industries depending on personal interests. The alumni at the panel included Torin Bainter, a Senior Technical Program Manager, Prashant Pandey, an IT Solution Engineer, Ashley Park, a Senior Consultant, Bharat Rao, a Technical Program Manager, Sahana Subrahmanya, a Software Engineer II, and Lu Tian, an SDET.
Of the panel, one MSIS student said, “I found it very helpful to talk with the alumni from different disciplines. It gave me a chance to think about looking into different career paths!”
As a one-year program, the Master of Science in Information Systems Program is an accelerated curriculum with real-world applications. Our active alumni know the value of career exploration, and much of the success of the MSIS program is due to the successful, knowledgeable, and generous alumni who consistently give back and provide their insights in navigating the post-MSIS landscape.
Interested in joining the ranks of MSIS alumni? Contact us to learn how to apply today!
