New computer lab will give UPB student a competitive edge after graduation

By Salynda Hogsett
Originally published in The Source

This semester the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford is offering a class that will give
students a competitive edge in the job market after graduating.
With the assistance of two $1 million gifts to Pitt-Bradford, the computer information
systems and technology program has installed a new computer lab in the Hangar building that
simulates what it would be like to set up a computer server for a small business.
Students and faculty both said that providing this helps students take concepts learned in
the Swarts 236 lab and put them into practice.
In other courses, well simulate setting up the different servers and connecting the
different devices together, said Douglas Elliott, a sophomore CIST major.
Now, with the help of this class, we actually get to physically set up everything
ourselves, Elliot said.
He said that having this class will help him get a job post-graduation.
Ill most likely be asked, Have you worked with servers before? Elliott said. Ill be
very happy and confident to say yes, I can do what you are going to be asking me to do.
Justin Martinez, a senior CIST student, has seen firsthand how this course will help
students with internships or after graduation.
Martinez interned with Protocol 80, a tech company in Bradford, Pa. When he started his
internship, he only had simulated experience with setting up servers.

I walked into my internship with no idea of what I was doing at first, and it was a really
big learning curve, he said. [What we are doing in this class] is exactly what I was doing in
those first two weeks [at my internship], he said.
Martinez said that he wasnt required to take the class, but he took it anyway to refresh
what he had learned at his internship so that everything is fresh when he applies for jobs after
graduating.
Faculty members said that they believe this will give the already well-qualified PittBradford graduates and even better chance of getting a job in their field of study.
We already have a strong program, said Donald Lewicki, associate professor of
business management and director of computing, telecommunications, and media services.
He said that the CIST program had three graduates in December and all three have
already found employment, one even with Yahoo.
The program is currently expanding to include three new concentrations so that students
can focus on one area of expertise.
Because of [the expansion], Lewicki said, were going to have more of a need for
hands on experience, and that lab provides for hands-on capabilities.
We now can do more with giving students a real-world experience, he said.
Steven Ellison, adjunct professor of CIST, has been teaching the class this semester. He
has also been in charge of ordering hardware and equipment for the class.
He said that his favorite part so far has been seeing the students get excited about the
process and dive in head-first.
He said that Pitt-Bradford students simply having access to the equipment will give them
an edge.

There are a lot of colleges that still dont have something like this: a room set up where
they have individual access to all the hardware, Ellison said.
He also said that simply having the lab that prospective CIST students can see will help
the program grow and be a calling card for the Pitt-Bradford program.
[Prospective students are] going to see that if they go here, its not just going to be
concept, Ellison said. They wont just be learning in a lab room; there will be hands on stuff
too.