Suffolk Reporter

For student employees in Stony Brook University’s Division of Information Technology (DoIT), mentorship from alumni who navigated the same roles and challenges is invaluable.

As part of DoIT’s 32nd annual Bootcamp, an annual retreat for student employees to connect with one another and with staff, five alumni served on a panel to discuss their journeys from DoIT undergraduate student employees to full-time professionals.

Simeon Ananou, Chief Information Officer and Vice President for DoIT, welcomed the group and emphasized the importance of compassion, humanity, humility, and curiosity. He reminded students that while their student employment is important, “your first assignment while you’re here is to be a good student, and we are glad that you’re bringing your talents and expertise to us to complement the work that we do so that we can serve the rest of the campus.”

Michael Basile, Customer Solutions Support Manager, moderated the August 23 alumni panel. The panel featured Jenny Chan ’04, Consulting User Assistance Developer at Oracle; John Glenis ’23, Systems Engineer II at Raytheon; Rezvan Nafee ’23, Junior Full Stack Developer at SupplyHouse; Joy Yim ’22, Lead Acquisitions Manager at Cash4Keys; and Angel Zou ’21, Research Program Coordinator at the World Trade Center Health Program.

Panelists shared their career journeys, highlighting the value of skills learned at Stony Brook in their roles as DoIT student employees. They noted that skills such as communication, time management, and teamwork are transferable to fields outside of IT.

Yim pivoted from her degree in occupational therapy to working for a real estate company but uses the skills learned while working in DoIT in her current profession. “When I started working at DoIT during my freshman year,” she said. “I didn’t know how to call a person on the phone. I was so shy, and I lacked confidence.” She added that working with staff helped her become confident and capable of taking any path.

Chan stressed the importance of teamwork and having confidence in one's abilities. “When I first started working,” Chan said. “I had imposter syndrome... To be successful, you need to be able to ask for help.”

Yim spoke about finding a mentor when assuming a new role and sharing experiences by serving as a mentor for others. “The first thing that I knew I had to do when I began working in real estate was to find a mentor,” she said.

Chan advised students to “embrace fear” and not be afraid of making decisions or mistakes. Zou added that Stony Brook is an ideal environment for experimentation: “This is a great place to ask dumb questions and make mistakes because the staff here just wants to see you grow.”

Following the alumni panel discussion, additional alumni met in small groups with students to address specific questions. DoIT employees have presented at several conferences about empowering student employees. Their high-impact practices are highlighted in "A Good Job: Campus Employment as a High-Impact Practice."

Mentorship from alumni helps student employees develop a clearer vision of their future and offers them support needed to achieve their professional goals.

— Beth Squire