Sabiya’s spending her summer interning at IBM, New York.

SabiyaBacchus_Seidenberg1. Who are you working with this summer (… and what do they do?)

Securing a paid summer internship is easier said than done. Luckily for me, I landed an exceptional opportunity with one of the largest computer companies in the world, IBM. IBM is a multinational technology and consulting corporation that offers a wide range of products and services.

2. Can you tell us a little about what you are doing? (We might not understand the technicalities, but we’d love details!)

My four-month internship this summer revolves around the Security Intelligence Software Group that focuses on QRadar Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) products.  QRadar SIEM provides solutions that give security analysts the visibility they need to protect their networks. In addition, it provides reliable tamper proof log storage for forensic investigations and evidence use. In fact, just recently IBM’s Security QRadar product was recognized as number one by the 2014 Gartner SIEM Quadrant, topping other companies like HP and McAfee!

The really awesome aspect of my internship is that I work remotely, which means I can work from wherever I want, including my own home! My internship is divided into two parts. The first includes learning about QRadar SIEM product by attending QRadar classes online, reviewing manuals, completing labs, and familiarizing myself with information technology concepts and terminology. The second part involves me shadowing my coworkers out in the field as they deploy new systems, upgrade existing systems or do health checks to improve/fix existing systems for our clients. I am scheduled to do my first visit next week. I will shadow one of the senior consultants as he deploys a new system for Harley Davidson in Milwaukee Wisconsin.

3. Is there a particular class or professor at Seidenberg that has helped you prepare specifically for your current internship? (Clearly, we’re all about shout outs this summer!)

My boss was excited to know that I was taking Fundamentals of Unix and C Programming (CS 271).

 4. Does your new office have a favorite restaurant/hangout they go to after work? (No! we’re not going to show up like proud parents!) 

I work from home. I just moved to East Harlem so I am still exploring the restaurants around my apartment.

 5. Does working at IBM live up to the hype? Like Google or Microsoft?

After visiting the offices of IBM, Google and Microsoft, I think they each have different cultures. I work from the comfort of my home (and it does not get any better than that). It’s pretty awesome not having to worry about catching or missing trains and dealing with unpleasant people face to face. I enjoy rolling out of my bed 10 minutes before I start work.

6. Any advice for the Seidenberg community?

This experience will help sharpen my communication and professionalism skills, expose me to the corporate world, and provide me with a wealth of knowledge and new talents.

Before I applied to IBM, I thought I was not good enough for them. However, here I am as their intern. My advice to everyone out there is stop being your worst antagonist. In fact, throw yourself into different situations and work hard to achieve the best possible outcomes. That way you will learn from every opportunity and you will be closer to success.

Working from the comfort of my home, not having to deal with transportation, obtaining a wealth of knowledge and getting paid—-nothing can beat that. IBM is awesome!

Sabiya Bacchus is in the penultimate year of a bachelors in Computer Science degree at the Seidenberg School. She’s also associated with the Pforzheimer Honors College, at Pace University

Cynthia’s spending her summer tracking down cyber-crime for the US Department of Justice.

CynthiaShaw_Seidenberg_DepOfJustice-205x3001. Who are you working with this summer? 

I am working for the US Department of Justice in the Criminal Division. Their purpose is to investigate and prosecute crimes on a federal level.

2. Can you tell us a little about what you are doing? 

My title is actually fancier than my job. I am called a high tech intern within the investigative unit. Basically I am working on various projects that involve computer forensics and their role in cyber crimes.

3. Is there a particular class or professor at Seidenberg that has helped you prepare for your current role?  

I think my computer forensics class with Professor Watkins was most helpful. He taught us the technical terms I would need to know, the importance of data integrity and even report writing. Each of these aspects play a vital role in my job this summer.

4. Does your new office have a favorite restaurant/hangout they go to after work?  

The other interns and I get together with the employees and do some bar trivia at a local spot. It’s a good way to unwind and get to know each other on a different level.

By day, Cynthia Shaw is an undergrad student at the Seidenberg School, majoring in information technology. By night, she’s a super hero that fights cyber-crime! Cynthia currently attends school at Pace University’s rather picturesque Pleasantville campus.

 

Kalgi’s spending her summer interning at Costco in Seattle!

1. How hectic is your internship at Costco? Are you sleepless in Seattle yet?

Seattle is not New York. But, no, I am not having any sleepless nights, though my  internship does take up a lot of my hours from Monday-Friday and some weekends too. I have to stay updated and do a lot of reading with regard to project management.

2. Could you tell us (in brief) what you’re working on this summer? 

I am working as a PMO intern with Costco IT. I am placed directly under a program manager, so I assist him with all the projects that fall under him (around 9 projects). In addition, we are developing a new dashboard for project management tools, which I am responsible for. It is in its development phase right now but we will start testing it soon. Also I am responsible for coming up with a training manual for the project managers. 

3. The work you’re doing right now… do you think there’s a particular subject you took last semester that’s helping you now? Or a particular Professor who’s teachings deserve a shout out?

Umm, I was always interested in project management. But, the IT Project Management course offered was really helpful in getting to know the basics and helped me with the lingo.

4. What is the fun stuff you’ve done in Seattle? Any explorations, tips?

Seattle has beautiful wineries and a lot of water activities. So yeah, I’ve been pretty involved in all the grape crushing, blueberry and strawberry picking, para-sailing and jet-skiing. And of course, the first-ever Starbucks is worth a visit. There are a lot of hiking places around Seattle as it’s surrounded by mountains, the most beautiful being Mt. Rainer.

Kalgi Shah is a grad student at the Seidenberg School, majoring in information systems. An avid traveler, Kalgi has visited more places in America in the last 8 months, than most people who’ve lived here all their lives!

 

Siobhan’s spending this summer working on some top secret stuff for Microsoft!

Siobhan Dunbar, Seidenberg 1. Who are you working with this summer? (…and what do they do?)

This summer, I am working at Microsoft Research as a student in the Microsoft Data Science Summer School (DS3). Though I cannot disclose details, Microsoft Research focuses on examining various data sets, especially in the realms of computational social science.

2. Can you tell us a little about what you are doing? (We might not understand the technicalities, but we’d love details!)

In our program, the first few weeks have been lectures and hands-on learning of various programming languages and utilities such as Python, Shell Coding, and R. For the rest of the program, I’ll be working on a team project. After forming prospective research questions, we’ll analyze data sets and develop conclusions to those questions. We’ll then show those results in interesting and coherent visual representations.

 3. Is there a particular class or professor at Seidenberg that has helped you prepare specifically for your current internship? (Clearly, we’re all about shout outs this summer!)

I would like to give a special shout out to Dr. Jonathan Hill and Stephanie Elson who have been a tremendous pillars of support to me throughout my time so far at Seidenberg, and who have also recommended me for this program. Thank you!

 4. Does your new office have a favorite restaurant/hangout they go to after work? (No! we’re not going to show up like proud parents!) 

Since the hours do go a bit late, and we have meals catered to the offices every week, a specific hangout spot has yet to be discovered. However, for those days when food is not provided, there are a variety of places around with good food if you ever need a break from the office.

Siobhan Wilmot-Dunbar is an undergrad student at the Seidenberg School, majoring in computer science. She’s an honors student and a wicked pianist.

Artem’s on the right track with his summer internship at MTA, New York

Atem Karapetyan | Seidenberg1. Who are you working with this summer? (…and what do they do?)

I am working with Robert Prophet. He’s in charge of maintaining power and cooling in all data centers, as well as building new ones. I also work with Aneudy Lake, he is the head IT professional and he is a system analyst, he sets up workstations, fixes network issues and does installation of new machines. The last person I work with is John Rubino, he is the Sr.Project Manager for Security in the MTA, he is updating the security protocols of the MTA, whilst maintaining existing ones.

2. Can you tell us a little about what you are doing? (We might not understand the technicalities, but we’d love details!)

I go to different locations, whether it is Hennery Hudson or Verrazano Bridge Narrows or East New York; I go and inspect their data centers with my team. I install machines for new (permanent) employees. I get to deal with everyone from electricians to contractors to Sr. level project coordinators and get to see how each one of them affects the process of controlling a data center.

3. Is there a particular class or professor at Seidenberg that has helped you prepare specifically for your current internship? (Clearly, we’re all about shout outs this summer!)

Sadly I have not taken any IT or networking courses as of yet, so no teachers helped me get my experience when it comes to this particular job, but Kline, Freddy, Olga, and Hill have always supported me.

4. Does your new office have a favorite restaurant/hangout they go to after work? (No! we’re not going to show up like proud parents!)

We interns go where it is cheap, good, and filling. So, we go to Yips, 18 Beaver St New York, NY 10004.

Artem Karapetyan is an undergrad student at the Seidenberg School, majoring in computer science. He’s known to give quite the bear hug!

5 Things Grad Students Need To Keep In Mind For Fall 2014

Vaibhav_Seidenberg

Hi, my name is Vaibhav Dubey. I’m a second-semester graduate student at theSeidenberg School of CSIS, specializing in Information Systems. With a little bit of perseverance – and some great guidance by the faculty here – over the last semester I have worked as a student consultant for the Pace Computer Resource Center, a proctor at the Student Advising Center, and most recently, as a Student Assistant for the Seidenberg School’s social media team.

Of late, I have been getting a lot of questions, via Facebook, from incoming international graduate students inquiring about their experience ahead. These inquiries include and revolve around which specialization/major is the best, which subjects to take, where to stay, which scholarships are available, visa requirements, and the most urgent question – “Will I get a job soon?”  In attempts to relieve some stress I thought this would be this best way to reach out to everyone – with the top 5 things you need to keep in mind once you have arrived.

1. Picking the right program for you: A few months ago, I was just as overwhelmed as you probably are right now! But the surprising news is – it really doesn’t matter which subjects you start out with! One of the nice things about the Seidenberg School is that you can take any combination of IT/CS /IS subjects you want. Even if you get a little confused along the way, you’ve got some really helpful academic advisers waiting to help: Kimberly Brazaitis (kbrazaitis@pace.edu) and Stephanie (selson@pace.edu.) Thanks to their help and guidance I was able to take a few introductory classes last semester and was able to figure out what I was interested in, but more importantly, what I was good at!

2. Getting a job: According to the law the United States, international students are not legally allowed to work off-campus until they complete two full semesters of study (Fall & Spring). But you can start working on-campus from the day you arrive! Bookmark Pace University’s eRecruiting Site and check it frequently. I found all three of my on campus jobs there. Note: To set up your eRecruiting account just call your local Career Services office (New York City: 212-346-1950/ Pleasantville & White Plains: (914-773-3361). As for getting a full-time job after you graduate – well, with a Pace Seidenberg degree, you are sure likely to stand out in the IT industry.

3. Keep on your speed dial: The Office of Student Assistance (OSA) and the International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO) are where you go for any and all you paperwork. Visa stamping, ID’s, official letters, social security forms, health insurance, tuition bills – EVERYTHING! Do not worry if you cannot find them, they will come to you. Expect at least 2 emails every day.

4. Scholarships: The Seidenberg School offers only merit-based scholarships to international students, and they are granted at the time of admission itself. What you should look out for is Graduate Assistantships (GA). A full G.A. can result in up to $12,000 worth of tuition!

5. Get socially involved on campus: Here at Pace University there are many opportunities to get involved and get connected with others. The Pace Indian Students Association, for example, is all about networking! PISA is a professional group of Indian students studying at Pace University. As an international student, I believe it is one of the best ways to make friends, interact with alumni, get leads on internships and find the only other people on campus willing to play cricket!

I hope this helps. In case you have any other questions, please feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll try to answer them.

See you all in September!

– Vaibhav Dubey

 

Skip to toolbar