Internships

Project Management Office: Portfolio Management Intern – Summer 2011
-Strengthened understanding of Program Manager, Project Manager and Business Analyst roles and their responsibilities throughout the Project Life Cycle
-Developed knowledge and understanding of computer programs commonly used in Project Management
-Implemented deliverable examples on the Project Management Office (PMO) website to provide high quality documents and facilitate new incoming projects appearance and quality consistency
-Updated Project Life Cycle through numerous meetings and collaboration from PMO and Information Technology (IT) departments
-Managed four small projects including the planning and development of project deliverables scheduling all project management procedures (scope management, issue management, risk management)

IT Quality Management Center Intern – Summer 2012
-Participated on the IT requirement team as a Business Analyst for the Requirements Framework Metrics Initiative
-Facilitated project meetings and completed requirements documentation
-Created all database tables and most of the queries for the Requirements Framework Metrics Initiative and all necessary design documentation
-Gained exposure in providing business analysis, quality assurance and business system support to projects and operational functions working with senior IT professionals

Projects

Project Management course:
In fall 2011 I took an interesting Project Management course. The course had the usual lectures, included Fissure Simulations, and utilized the Second Life computer game virtual world as a tool for group project work. During the lectures I was able to learn about project management and reflect upon my internship from the previous summer.

Just in case you aren’t familiar with the Fissure Simulation software, it is a project management, business analysis, managing change, and leadership skills training solution. During the class I had the chance to engage in an interactive project simulation that challenged me to apply management tools, techniques and concepts. As an example, during last portion of the course the professor divided the class in half to form two Second Life teams (14 members each). Each person on the team had a role, my role was texturizer. The objective of our team project was to design, build and release a Conference Center complex according to specifications to be approved by the client sponsor, Grant Wishes’ (class Professor).

Lessons learned:
1.The Fissure Simulation Software helped me greatly with planning the project, making weekly decisions, running the project, and auto-generating reports. I loved the experience and the ability to transform new class content into workplace practices. In the simulation I played the Project Manager role. I enjoyed the “learn by doing” environment and recommend it for all business and computer major students.
2.Second Life is a virtual world where people interact through avatars. This project was fun and different compared to all other projects I’ve done so far. It took a lot of coordination and communication among members to accomplish our tasks. We were depending on each other to complete these tasks in a timely manner. As an example, I had to wait for the Project Manager to approve what the Business Analyst would say and wait for the Builder to build it so I could texturize the shapes. I could related the course experience to what happens on a real life project where the client provides the team with criteria such as a defined amount of resources, time, and personnel. I really enjoy this virtual experience given this similarity to real life projects.

Lastly, the two simulations completed in class and the lectures taught me to learn from mistakes with no risk and that I learn best by doing. It was also exciting to see how my decisions impacted the bottom line results of the project (time, cost and quality).

Business Software Engineering course:
In fall 2011 I took my second programming class, Business Software Engineering. This class helped me develop object-oriented programming skills at the intermediate level. It also helped me develop techniques of data access, input, output, and processing in a business environment using programming tools. For this class I used SQL programming techniques and the Visual Studio IDE.

 I learned how to:
-identify and explain concepts of information systems architecture and development
-illustrate the interrelationship between information systems and business activities
-deal with human factors in system development
-build critical thinking skills and the capability of using information systems to solve business problems and meet business requirements
-develop hands-on skills in object-oriented programming
-acquire hands-on skills in business data manipulation in system development

This class was definitely interesting, fun, and challenging. The jump from the fundamentals of programming to this class is radical. If you are interested in some of the projects I completed for the class please take a look via:
–Object-oriented design, this solution includes a login and password form that allows people to enter the system, a form that allow people to view top posted articles, and a form that allow people to submit articles
–Object-oriented design with database functionality (builds on the above project), this solution added a user account creation, user login, article submission, and article display.
–Object-oriented design with database and ASP.NET (builds on the above project), this solution added a user friendly interface and more functionality.

Server-based Networking & Security course:
During fall 2011, I took a Local Area Network (LAN) Development and Administration class. The class focused on issues related to Enterprise Network Administration. We discussed network planning and LAN hardware. The class focused on the Microsoft Windows Server 2000 Operation System and studied Active Directory, domain creation, account management, file sharing and permissions, distributed file systems, security policy configuration, and web server setup.

Some key items I learned during the course include the following:
-developed an understanding of enterprise networks and networking devices
-learned about network administration with Microsoft Windows Server 2000
-understood the managerial and security issues in a LAN environment
-familiarized myself with LAN troubleshooting techniques

 During the semester I completed numerous labs and demos. At the end of the semester I worked on a team project to put into practice what we learned in the classroom. This project included 18 tasks from naming our domain to GPOs implementation reports. The entire experience left me with a clearer picture of Enterprise Network Administration.

Art course:
My last semester of school, fall 2012, I decided to take a class called “Computer Graphics.” I wanted to expand my knowledge in graphic computer programs and challenge myself with my imagination. I had some difficulties taking this class given that most of my classmates were art related majors with a deeper perception of art. I did my best and spent more time than expected working on my projects to meet the ‘artistic’ requirements. I really enjoyed the challenge and learned the basics of Adobe Suite Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.

Project 1: National Monument Stamps
Project 2: U2 CD cover and CD design
Project 3: Pamphlet, CD and logo design
Final Project: La Gran Sabana, Venezuela travel book