Career Conversations Panel Series:
Discovering Careers in Information Technology
November 19, 2009
4:00 - 6:00 pm
Harry Crowe Room, 109 Atkinson College
In partnership with New College
Sponsored by York University Alumni and Advancement Services
This conversational panel, moderated by a Career Centre staff member and hosted in partnership with the New College, will consist of 3 to 6 representatives from the field of Information Technology who will share their own personal career stories and talk about what students can do today to prepare for a career in this field.
The purpose of this session is to provide students with a variety of perspectives on the Information Technology field to assist them in making informed educational and experiential decisions now in preparation for the future.
Participating Panelists:
Jeff Bowers
Senior Project Delivery Manager
RBC
I spent the first 20 years of my career with IBM doing numerous technical and management roles including years of on site customer and international work. In 2006 I decided to join RBC. In my current capacity I oversee multiple teams and projects. My role remains on the technical side although in a management capacity. I also spent 10 years teaching part time at night computer science at UoT, Seneca and Ryerson.
Vic Cizmarik
Director, Client Services
Constellation Software, Inc
Alumnus: MBA Schulich School of Business, York University (2005)
Since playing my very first competitive hockey game at a very young age, I aspired to lead by example. Today, I take pride in being referred to as an innovative front-line leader and working hand-in-hand with some of the brightest minds in software development. With my diverse experience, ranging from development and sales, to consulting and management, I continuously challenge myself with complex and novel engagements.
Alon Gurba
Technical Consultant
Infor Global Solutions
Alumnus: ITMA , York University (2008)
My journey, from a frightened and inexperienced ITEC student at York University to a confident and successful Technical Consultant in one of the world’s largest software companies, has undoubtedly been interesting and greatly rewarding. My professional career provided me with opportunities to travel all over Canada, US and Europe. I had the privilege of being an integral part of large and complex projects, working for clients from different industries including retail, government agencies, health care, transportation and many more, while collaborating with business partners such as IBM and Oracle.
I personally believe that a key to success is through inner desire to climb new mountains and conquer new challenges. I am currently facing my next challenge in life, working towards my MBA.
Mike Zacheja
User Experience Designer
IBM Canada
Alumnus: BA Information Technology and Economics, York University (2009)
As a recent graduate from ITEC, I landed an ideal job at IBM, as a User Experience Designer. This journey began by enrolling into the TIP program where I completed a 16 month internship and was asked to stay on part-time at IBM, until I completed my degree. My career allows me to conduct user sessions on the prototypes I create and gathering requirements from customers and presenting these findings to people within the organization. My job is to always keep the customer’s interest at the forefront, while keeping all the stakeholders happy.
Himanshu Vyas
Analyst
York University
Alumnus: BSc. Computer Science, MBA Candidate (2010), Schulich School of Business, 2004
My working career can be traced back to the 2nd year of my undergraduate degree. I started out as a Helpdesk Assistant; within a year I was given the opportunity to lead a team of twelve students to provide a new service called InRez. Soon thereafter I secured a position with Micro Support Team with responsibility to provide second level technical support. In my current position as an Analyst for WTS team, I employ creativity, innovation and experience along with strong interpersonal skills, to consult faculties and staff at York University for their various computing needs. One of my goals is to continuously improve myself and hence I am pursuing an MBA degree in the field of Strategic Management and Information Systems to further my skills and career into IT management.
