ITS Students and Faculty on the AT&T/Nationwide
Insurance Tour. - photo by Khalid Elmereedi
AT&T/Nationwide Insurance Tour January 22, 2010
More than twenty graduate and undergraduate ITS students traveled
to Columbus Friday, January 22, to tour AT&T and Nationwide
sites thanks to two of the school's advisory board members.
Mike Jenkins, Signature Client Vice President of Global
Business Services at AT&T, and Jim Gay,
Associate VP of Technology Infrastructure Planning at Nationwide,
were instrumental in setting up the tours. Alumni and friends
of the school met the students for lunch at the North Market.
"This idea came up at our last advisory board meeting,"
said Associate Professor John Hoag, who coordinated
the event. "Seeing product information systems in action reinforces
the theory that we teach. This trip was not only a chance for students
to tour facilities but a chance to meet professionals working in
our field and the executives that lead those companies."
Students found the tours especially relevant. ITS undergraduate
student Rylan Brown commented, "One thing
I've been wanting to do is go out into the real world and actually
witness what I will be doing with a degree in ITS. The enlightening
tour at Nationwide Insurance really opened my eyes to the possibilities
associated with a career in telecommunications." "This
was a good opportunity to see the protocols and standards we study
at work in industry," according to graduate student Emmanuel
Odarno. "It was pratically, a lab experience
embedded in a business case. It really brought into perspective
the focus of our program."
ITS alums involved in the tour include Nationwide Insurance employees Doug
Hromco BSC '02, Matt Christian BSC '99, and Zach
Eyen BSC '06; Beth Sertell BSC '99,
Verizon; Jared Fliegel BSC '09, Defense Supply
Center; and Boxing He MCTP '09, Medical Center
of University of Pittsburgh.
Similar events are being planned for other quarters and in other
cities. Those with interest in setting up tours at their workplaces
may email Barb Moran at moran@ohio.edu.
