Marcelo's Story

1. Tell us about yourself

I am originally from Brazil, yet I had visited 20 different countries over the last decade. I studied business management in Sydney, Australia, then came to San Diego to see some family members. Fell in love with California and decided to finish my degree here. In San Diego, I met some of the most generous people existing there, who introduced me to student club organizations and their Associated Student Government.

I got involved and was elected as student government vice-president, representing the body of 24,000 students during state (Sacramento) and national (Washington, DC) conferences, with the chance of interacting with members of the House and Senate. Our team even passed a resolution at the SSCCC addressing issues affecting student's educational success. I was an avid volunteer (totaling 400+ hours) for food banks and feed the homeless programs alongside the Student Veterans Organization back in San Diego. Yet, the programs are temporarily paused due to the pandemic.

A couple of years later, I ended up transferring to Cal Poly Pomona to finish my undergrad in Business Management, with an emphasis in Human Resources. I worked with employment services and attained a managerial position with campus dining, accumulating positions, and responsibilities with time. After a couple of years of financial success on the operations, I joined our campus bookstore team as a technology buyer: then, my thirst for technology kicked in. I decided then to apply and got accepted to the MSIS program.

I currently work for CPP Foundation as an IT procurement manager, handling contractual documentation of vendors' service level agreements (SLAs), including Apple, Dell, Microsoft, and HP. During this pandemic, I helped to review business continuity management protocols - facilitating remote work for our team members. Since late June, I have also been part of our Information Security and Compliance team (as student assistant) with our Chief Information Security Officer. I assist our CISO in providing a comparative analysis (ICSUAM 8000) and recommending action plans based on security frameworks (NIST).

As side projects, I disassemble (and hopefully assemble) parts of my car's engine and diverse computer parts, automating and increasing its components' efficiency. On less hot days, I join my girlfriend on her gardening hobby to grow our marvelous fruits and vegetables. There are now 100+ plants (indoor + outdoor) to give attention, so we continuously have a decent reason to stay home during the pandemic.

2. What interests and excites you about business?

Business is what keeps the world running. We are always learning and changing to accommodate the needs of our customers and facing difficult situations. The stoicism needed to start and maintain a business is admirable.

3. Tell us about your experience in the (MBA/MSIS/MSA) program.

I did not know what to expect, as this was an information assurance program – so it was interesting to hear that no technological background was needed. The program is comprehensive, giving us the chance to learn about forensics, audit, cybersecurity, and likewise polish some managerial and accounting topics. The new path now involves areas such as machine learning, cloud computing, and databases.

Professors invited and recommended us to attend events from the industry, so we can shake hands and meet seniors on our field. Attending and participating as volunteering for our ISACA (Information Systems Audit and Control Association) permitted us to understand the

complexities of an old, yet ever-changing field. Throughout these professional events and gatherings - when the program was still called MSBA - I had the opportunity of bringing professionals (CPP Alumni) from the big-4 (Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PWC) to share their careers' perspectives, and likewise explain the opportunities in their industry.

4. What strengths/skills have you gained from the program and taken back to work?

During the program, I got involved at our Student-run Security Operations Center (Mitchel C. Hill Student Data Center). This involvement permitted the students to use industry-lead security tools such as IBM's QRadar and Splunk. These are resources mimicking real-world threats and vulnerability scanning while logging all the data (for audit purposes) and producing easy to read reports on dashboards created by us. Likewise, there is a severe amount of training available for students curious about certificates and seeking a cybersecurity career or audit.

In one of many of our hands-on projects, we had the chance to perform an audit at our workplace. It does not sound fun, and of course, everyone around you at work would feel concerned. Yet, it gives the opportunity of implementing the correct security framework and checklists for increased team performance. The observations learned during this audit, and all the engagement became now the norm – monthly internal audits are conducted at my department. It allowed us to adjust our ordering system and inventory reconciliation while saving money and time.

5. What your future goal?

I am currently studying for my comprehensive exam while considering which certificates to get next and jump uphill on my career. ISACA's CISA (certified information systems auditor) in on top of my list, followed up closely by ISC²'s CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security professionals). The resources and tools available to professionals from the Big-4 are the zeniths of our market; thus, I would love to join one of the Big-4 and learn from the seasoned experts in their respective fields.

6. Do you have any advice for future MSIS students?

Forget what you think about school. This graduate program is for serious, experienced professionals who are not slacking and pulling each other's weight. We often hear undergrad students asking which classes are easy to pass. During this program, the students instead ask which ones are more challenging and related to the real world. The fact that you get confronted continuously to think out of the box makes this program unique. The technics and resources shared by the hardened lecturers are the pinnacles of this program.

And lastly, get involved! Talk to your peers and professors to understand where they come from and what can be accomplished together. The MSIS program is exceptionally modern, and by the time you finish your classes, there will be new technological changes.