CIST program blends technical ability with social skills

If “The Graduate” were remade today, Mr. McGuire might have a different word of career advice for young Benjamin, or two words, precisely, “I.T.”

I.T. – information technology – is not the nerdy world of coding computers in a corner. It encompasses myriad systems and skills, but most importantly it blends technology with social skills.

Four years ago, Pitt-Bradford made a switch from a “traditional” (if such a word can be used in a field that’s only 50 years old) computer science program to a broader, more encompassing computer information systems and technology (CIST) major.

“Jobs that require the kind of programming taught in a computer science curriculum can be outsourced to low-cost countries, but services can’t be outsourced,” explained Dr. Y. Ken Wang, assistant professor of computer information systems and technology.

“We’re seeing a high demand for networking people, web developers, systems/network administrators and database managers,” he said.

Along with the tech skills, however, those jobs require “soft skills” – social graces, communication, language, interpersonal skills, friendliness and optimism – that make IT hires a valuable part of a larger team.

Don Lewicki, associate professor of business management and a former executive at IBM, designed the major with this in mind.

In every class, faculty members with extensive experience in the industry require students to create a project that can be included in a portfolio to show future employers, make a presentation in front of the class and write a paper to develop their communication skills.

“The rap on information technology students is that they can’t communicate,” said Lewicki, who works to hone these skills in his students. Before graduating, each takes a final capstone class with him.

The capstone consists not only of a large technical project that brings together what students have learned, but also requires them to blog about their project experience. In addition, students present weekly updates in front of the capstone team, prepare resumes in written and online formats and perform mock interviews for their “dream” job.

Even before they make it to Lewicki’s capstone course, students will have had their share of working in teams and with real customers in the form of pro bono work for small companies in the area – restaurants, in-home businesses and the like.

“The students usually want to develop something cool and fancy to show off what they know, but they go out and work with a customer and discover that that’s not always what the client wants. The client usually just wants something clean with a good interface,” Wang said.

“We’re a very hands-on program, and that gives students experience dealing with the conflicts of time, client needs and teamwork. Through projects, they come to know the real world.”

Jeremy Callinan is a 2004 graduate of the computer science program and co-owner of Protocol 80, a local computer consulting firm that he founded with his classmate, Donny Kemick. He also teaches an elective class each semester in the CIST program, bringing his real-world knowledge in working with clients in fields from oil and gas to regional manufacturers.

CIST is about “all the different ways that computers can help you run a business better,” he said. So listening and understanding the problems a company is having with its manufacturing or marketing is key to coming up with the best IT solutions.

Callinan gives his students plenty of hands-on time, seeking out a project for nearly every class to complete. Last fall, his students in Mobile Application Development designed an application of the Pitt-Bradford faculty and staff directory for use on Android devices.

Students worked in teams, then presented their final products. An application was chosen that was put on the Android market. Even a simple application such as that involved writing hundreds of lines of code, troubleshooting, problem solving and dedication to a project.

All of the instructors in the program similarly keep at least one foot in the working world of IT.

Bob and Steve Ellison are alumni who work for the Office of Computing, Telecommunications and Media Services, but they’re also instructors teaching database development and systems administration courses. Each requires rigorous student projects.

Joe Austin, instructor of the program’s networking courses, has found the virtues of being able to translate what the customer wants and needs into the appropriate IT solution as a networking architect at Level 3 Corp. in Coudersport.

The curriculum’s instructors all see plenty of opportunity for students graduating from the CIST program, especially nontraditional students who already have good background knowledge of business and manufacturing operations.

For the students who have graduated from the CIST program so far, having hard skills plus soft skills has equaled full employment. This year’s commencement will mark the first full class of graduates since the program was implemented, but some students had enough credits already under their belts to graduate with a CIST degree.

Those CIST graduates have taken jobs with area industry, government, health care and in education settings.

Matthew Reiner, a 2011 graduate, landed a full-time job a year before he graduated. Reiner works for Level 3, a company with a hub in Coudersport that offers infrastructure to broadband carriers like AT&T and Verizon.

After serving an internship at Level 3 facilitated by Lewicki, Reiner began working full-time, often remotely from a locked study carrel in the Hanley Library on campus. Now he works from his home in Olean, N.Y., and the team he works with is spread out across the country.

“The first job that I was hired to do at Level 3 was deploy equipment. One of the things that became really useful early on was communication skills,” he said.

In his couple of years at Level 3, Reiner has already been promoted.

“I’m using a lot more of my education now,” he said. “Communication is the most important thing.”

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