McClure School's Mentorship Program gives students opportunities to network with professionals in ITS and VR & Game Development.
October 14, 2022
The mentorship program at the McClure School facilitates connections between undergraduate students in the school and alumni who are successful in their respective field. Three ITS graduates discuss how the mentorship program changed their education and careers. Jim Gay, founder of the IT firm JG Consulting and current member of the McClure School鈥檚 student advisory board, started and promoted the program for students to connect with professionals in the ITS field. The program gives students the ability to form strong relationships and networks in a professional yet casual environment.
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Josie Book, ITS '21 alumna
Josie Book, ITS 鈥21 alumna, is now a project manager of infrastructure at Atos and was introduced to the program after her sophomore year. Book鈥檚 mentor, Bryan Ireton, was the CEO of Atos at the time Book entered the program. Because of the connections they built, Book got an internship as his assistant, working closely with Ireton. With three daughters, Ireton was relatable and supportive, and Book attests every position she has ever had at Atos to him. Once in the internship position, Book began networking with Ireton鈥檚 team and eventually made her way to the lead of HR who guided her to the Rotation Program at Atos. 鈥淸The Rotation Program] allowed me to switch to different departments throughout the company and see which area I really felt comfortable with, what my niche was and what I was really interested in,鈥 says Book. The McClure School, and Gay in particular, uses the mentorship program to get students the positions they desire in ITS. 鈥淒efinitely take any guidance or advice offered, it's never going to be bad,鈥 says Book. 鈥淸The McClure School] has always been super helpful, super encouraging and asking for help gets you very far.鈥
Katie Kobasuk, ITS '22 alumna
ITS 鈥22 alumna, Katie Kobasuk, is now an IT Systems Engineer Associate at Progressive鈥檚 NTOC team. Kobasuk was connected to her mentor, Leah Beltz, after signing up for the program thanks to the encouragement of Gay. Wanting to relate to her mentor, Kobasuk requested that her mentor be a woman in the technology sector. Beltz, an account executive at the time, met with Kobasuk monthly which turned into bi-monthly meetings or whenever Kobasuk had time. 鈥淵ou work [your schedule] out with your mentor, so it's based on what you want to get out of the program,鈥 says Kobasuk. Kobasuk emphasized the importance of starting to connect with professionals early on in one鈥檚 career. Although the program is a casual connector between current students and alumni, it relies heavily on professionalism to teach students how to maintain real-world ITS relationships. 鈥淵ou can really have a fun, personable relationship and ask for advice, really. In all in all senses,鈥 says Kobasuk.
Ryan Kemper, ITS '18 and MITS '19 alumnus
ITS 鈥18 and MITS 鈥19 alumnus, Ryan Kemper, now a Specialist Technology Engineer at Nationwide Insurance, was assigned Tod Bickley at Nationwide as his mentor. Thanks to his connection with Bickley, Kemper got internships at Nationwide two summers in a row which allowed him to network at the company and grow more successful relationships with other ITS professionals. Bickley specialized in leadership at Nationwide which encouraged Kemper to combine learned people skills with those he gained in a technical setting at school and in internships. Through Bickley and the networks Kemper made at Nationwide, he began to understand the importance of maintaining connections with professionals. 鈥淥nce you get out into the industry, there's lots of familiar faces,鈥 says Kemper. 鈥淚f you stay in the same area, the same people kind of rotate between the big technology companies of whatever your area you're in."
The McClure School of Emerging Communication Technologies strives to offer the best academic programs in the IT (Information Technology)(opens in a new window), the game development and the Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality(opens in a new window) (VR/AR) industries. Our programs and certificates cover numerous aspects of the rapidly changing industries of information networking, cybersecurity(opens in a new window), data privacy, game development(opens in a new window), digital animation and the academic side of esports.