Information systems alum flourishes in his career
By Courtney Jackson| Student Writer
Vincenzo Sposito (BBA ’14, MSISM ’19) decided to enroll in graduate school to advance in his career, but he could not predict how impactful the benefits would be.
Sposito is a program manager at Google where he manages complex cross-functional initiatives for new features releases.
Why did you decide to get a graduate degree?
I wanted to learn more about these methods to make myself dangerous in the workplace. I worked as a project manager for Discover Financial Services for two years after getting my bachelor’s at Quinlan and I eventually worked my way up to senior manager. I could see the relevancy of my undergraduate-level courses, but there was a higher-level application of skills related to my position at the time that I felt that I did not have yet. I have always been a continual learner, even outside of getting individual degrees. I am always getting certifications, taking courses, and trying to grow.
Describe Quinlan’s information systems program.
The program is rooted in fundamentals and relevant to industry. It did a great job at covering a broad range of topics related to information systems.
The way that information is being processed is becoming such a core component of every single industry. It’s just no longer the information technology companies that deal with this, but every company has some form of an information asset.
I think data and information management is critical to success in business. Strong mining, storage and preparation methods ensure raw data is consumable at all levels of the organization.
How did the program help your career?
I learned a lot in the program. Earning my degree and applying it in the working world made me much stronger at utilizing my newly acquired skill set. I think the combination of competence and the increasing skills led me to most of my promotions.
Google is an incredibly data driven organization and to say that I use almost everything I learned each and every day is not an exaggeration. In some way shape or form, the lessons around analytics, data mining, warehousing, and visualization all come into play. Requirements analysis and the product/project lifecycle classes gave me the vocabulary and methodological understanding to work with my engineering peers as we continue to deliver valuable features for our customers.
As a program manager, I work cross functionally with a number of teams, processes and systems. My ability to be self-serving in gathering and interpreting the data I need enables me to be nimble and autonomous in my delivery.
Any advice for Quinlan students?
Absorb as much as you can because you may not understand at that moment how you are going to use it or how it will be used. The places where knowledge manifests itself when you’re older are very interesting. Even if you don’t think you will need it, try to find a way to be attentive to it.
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