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Bradley Chippy

My favorite part about the CSIS program is the curriculum and faculty. The staff has a wide variety of knowledge in all areas of Computer Science and Information Systems. Additionally, the classes offered are a wide variety: mobile, cloud, security, machine learning, and so much more. Lastly, almost every class had students working on projects that put the theory learned in class into practice.

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Saloni Shah

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1. Please provide a brief introduction of who you are: a. Graduation year: Expected to graduate in May of 2021 b. Current job: Stay at home mom 2. What was your favorite aspect of the program? a. Flexibility of picking classes b. Convenience of schedule c. Accommodating faculty 3. What is it like to be a student in this program? I am getting quality education at a pace of my choosing. 4. What made you decide to go to graduate school? After I had my first child, I decided to take a break from workforce and care for her fulltime. After having my second child, while I take care of him; I have decided to upgrade my skills as I plan to rejoin workforce. I am hoping that this program will help me enhance my skills and experience to get back into the workforce. 5. Tips on how to make the best of the program and resources. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Read ahead of program expectations and plan accordingly. Be prepared.

Abdulrahman Zaiter

an international student from the country of Syria, born in Kuwait and raised between the two countries. I lived 9 years in Syria, 9 years in Kuwait, and 5 in the USA. I graduated high school in 2014 with 4.0 GPA, attended SVSU for the Computer Science Bachelor’s program in 2015, finished it in 3 years with 4.0GPA, and will be graduating from the Computer Science and Information Systems Master’s program with also a 4.0 GPA in this December.

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1. Currently working as: - Full-time R&D Software Engineer at DICE Corporation. - Adjunct Faculty at SVSU teaching Cybersecurity System administration (CS232) in Fall 2019 - Graduate Assistant for the CSIS department 2. What was your favorite aspect of the program? - Small class sizes that allowed direct connection with professors - Very relative to the industry at its current days - Research opportunities directly with the professors in every single course. - Respectful faculty that allowed us as students to add to the value of the program 3. What is it like to be a student in this program? - Challenging, but fun - Learnt about cutting edge technologies - Lots of hands on and research experience 4. What made you decide to go to graduate school? - Expand my knowledge in the field of CSIS - Depending on how things go: o I will either advance to do a PhD program and teach o Or move into more leadership positions in the industry 5. Tips on how to make the best of the program and resources. - Don’t be afraid to ask professors for research opportunities, they all have something ongoing and lots of smart ideas in many fields - Make use of the research lab in SE122 - Time management is a must

Shadarryl Hardnett

"Being in this program helps open my eyes to the many opportunities that are available in the field of Public Health. As a student, I feel very supported not only by my classmates but by all of the instructors as well. I can really sense the staff who are apart of this program really cares about making our learning experience through this program valuable to our future careers."

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Dominik Beckman

"The MBA program at SVSU broadened my perspective of business concepts, strategic thinking and problem-solving. The biggest contributor to accelerating my career was the connection to real-world applications. I applied what I learned in the classroom to the job."

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Lesha Swilley

"They have shared lessons from their own real-world experiences that have helped me gain a new perspective on business solutions. This allowed me to take what I have learned and put my own personal touch on my project solutions. SVSU has been a good investment for me.”

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Iesha has a passion for creating new strategies that make an impact for the greater good. Coming out of undergraduate school with a bachelor’s degree in public administration, Copeland came to SVSU while working full time and pursuing her MBA. “The guidance I’ve received from professors is invaluable," she explained. "They have shared lessons from their own real-world experiences that have helped me gain a new perspective on business solutions. This allowed me to take what I have learned and put my own personal touch on my project solutions. SVSU has been a good investment for me.” Copeland most recently finished doing research with Joseph Ofori-Dankwa, SVSU’s Harvey Randell Wickes Chair in International Studies on the topic of social entrepreneurship. “We focused on the topic of advancement in David R. Gamez Community Health Centersociety with David Gamez and his role with developing the Community Health Center - Health Delivery Inc," she said. Gamez retired as president and CEO of the Health Center. ”This is a center that provides medical assistance to all income levels. Everything David did with Health Delivery was as a service to the community," Copeland said. She explained that Gomez’s entrepreneurism is an example of her research about how small business owners often put forth their passion as the front of their business plan as well as caring for the greater good of the community as a whole. “What I did find is that a lot of mid-level, and even larger companies, are starting to adopt practices of better values and how to contribute to society,” she said. “Big companies are creating a social platform for employees. The social venture focuses less on high profit and more on the needs of others. This equals happier customers and employees.” In her last semester at SVSU, Copeland is driving forward with yet another research project and social-based independent study with Dr. Izabela Szymanska, assistant professor of management at SVSU. “We are going to be focusing on corporate entrepreneurship,” Copeland said. “The goal is the help me create a module or training to present to companies to introduce creativity and innovation into the workplace. The idea came from an assignment we had to do in class. It was a case study based on the Mars Corporation. An employee had an idea to do more personalized products and print messages on M&Ms. The assignment intrigued me and now I want to dive deeper into corporate entrepreneurship. The idea helps to retain employees and customers because the brand is more creative and the employees are more invested in the outcomes. With my independent study, we are looking at developing a presentation module for local corporations to use and follow.” “When I graduate, I would like to train both large and small companies to implement processes that will help them not only run a better business model, but allow them to have stronger relationships with their employees and customers.”

John Stadwick

“On the track team, everybody had different specialties, different strengths,” John said. “We learned to leverage them. This translates into the working world where you identify and leverage individuals’ strengths to build a winning team.”

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John Stadwick, 1983, B.B.A., came to SVSU in 1978 as a student-athlete. A member of the track team, John was a three-time All American and part of the 1982 and 1983 Men’s Indoor National Track Championship team. Today, he serves as vice president of Shanghai-GM Automobile Co. Ltd., (Shanghai-GM) and vice president of sales, service and marketing for General Motors China. Lessons learned as a student-athlete helped him achieve success in his professional career. A native of Harrison Township near Detroit, John chose SVSU because the university was building a nationally-recognized track and cross country program. “When I was in high school, I received a recruitment package from [track coach] Dr. [Doug] Hansen,” explained John. “I wanted to continue running track and cross country in college, and SVSU seemed to be a good fit.” Not only was SVSU a good fit for the college freshman, it was a good place to “grow up.” “Going to college is [often] the first time you live away from home,” John said. “So it’s a big growth time emotionally, physically and psychologically. SVSU provided a positive environment for my growth and development. Those years were very influential in providing me with a solid foundation that I use in decision-making every day of my life. “A couple of great coaches — Ed Skrelunas and Doug Hansen — acted as mentors to a bunch of young men and women,” John said. “They instilled some pretty good values: integrity, trust, dedication and teamwork. These helped me in my career, especially as I work around the world. You have to build trust; your colleagues need to believe in you, and you need to believe in them.” The Road to Success John’s road to success has taken him across the country and around the world. After earning his Bachelor of Business Administration in 1983, he joined the district manager-in-training program at GM’s Oldsmobile division in Lansing. Working for a global company, John realized there were many opportunities outside of southeast Michigan. His career has taken him from New York to California and points in between. In the late 1990s, John left Oldsmobile to join GM’s corporate office. His first overseas opportunity came in 2004, when he moved to Mexico as director for General Motors Service Parts Operation for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. By that time, John and his wife, Andrea, had three children. The move to Mexico gave them all a broader perspective on the world. “When we moved to Mexico, my daughter participated in a United Nations event with kids from all over the world,” John recalled. “They talked about global politics and shared personal perspectives. My kids’ experiences really made them global citizens.” Although John hadn’t experienced international travel as a student, he said his experience at SVSU helped prepare him for life abroad. “Reflecting back, my first roommate was a kid who grew up in Greece,” John said. “Lou Iordanou and I became best friends and are still friends. That was my first exposure to a different culture and language. “Being on the track and cross country teams taught me how to adapt and adjust to people from diverse backgrounds. I didn’t realize I was even learning those lessons, but they came into play later.” While in Mexico, John learned to speak Spanish, which led to an appointment as regional director of aftersales for GM Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. In 2009, he accepted the position of vice president of aftersales for GM International Operations in Shanghai. In 2010, John became president and managing director of General Motors Middle East Operations, based in Dubai. John’s success earned the attention of Evo Middle East, a leading auto publication, which named him “2011 Man of the Year.” In 2013, Forbes Middle East included John on its “Global Meets Local” list of top influential leaders of global corporations’ regional operations. Late last fall, John once again packed up his office and returned to Shanghai. John credits his experience at SVSU as a positive influence and essential in the development of his successful life and career. Because of that, he supports the university. “I’m not sure I’d be where I am if I had not gone to SVSU,” he said. “I believe in giving back. I want to make sure other students have the same opportunities that were available to me.” As for his many moves around the world, John credits his wife. “When traveling and relocating around the world, you need strong support from your spouse,” John says. “My wife has moved our family multiple times. I could not have done it without her.” The road from SVSU to Shanghai has been interesting for John Stadwick, and he’s eager to see where it takes him next, and so is SVSU.

Zaiter

I’m an international student from the country of Syria, born in Kuwait and raised between the two countries. I lived 9 years in Syria, 9 years in Kuwait, and 5 in the USA. I graduated high school in 2014 with 4.0 GPA, attended SVSU for the Computer Science Bachelor’s program in 2015, finished it in 3 years with 4.0GPA, and will be graduating from the Computer Science and Information Systems Master’s program with also a 4.0 GPA in this December.

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Currently working as: - Full-time R&D Software Engineer at DICE Corporation. - Adjunct Faculty at SVSU teaching Cybersecurity System administration (CS232) in Fall 2019 - Graduate Assistant for the CSIS department 2. What was your favorite aspect of the program? - Small class sizes that allowed direct connection with professors - Very relative to the industry at its current days - Research opportunities directly with the professors in every single course. - Respectful faculty that allowed us as students to add to the value of the program 3. What is it like to be a student in this program? - Challenging, but fun - Learnt about cutting edge technologies - Lots of hands on and research experience 4. What made you decide to go to graduate school? - Expand my knowledge in the field of CSIS - Depending on how things go: o I will either advance to do a PhD program and teach o Or move into more leadership positions in the industry 5. Tips on how to make the best of the program and resources. - Don’t be afraid to ask professors for research opportunities, they all have something ongoing and lots of smart ideas in many fields - Make use of the research lab in SE122 - Time management is a must

Bradley Chippi

My favorite part about the CSIS program is the curriculum and faculty. The staff has a wide variety of knowledge in all areas of Computer Science and Information Systems. Additionally, the classes offered are a wide variety: mobile, cloud, security, machine learning, and so much more. Lastly, almost every class had students working on projects that put the theory learned in class into practice.

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It was an excellent experience being a student in the program. All the students are deeply interested in the field and classes were interactive.I attended graduate school to expand my knowledge in the field. There were a lot of classes I was very interested in. Achieving a master’s degree has been a life goal of mine. Be passionate about the field. There is an endless amount of opportunities with this degree. The industry is everchanging, and it is exciting. Be communicative and build a relationship with the professors to get the best out of the program. Briefly Describe the project thesis: The scope of the project was to perform binary data extraction and define features that will contribute towards classifying if an executable is a malicious crypto-miner or not. This has been accomplished by taking the executable file and converting it to a representational image of its binary contents. This allows building an image classification model of clean and malicious executables. It’s worth noting that the focus of this research was on static rather than dynamic malware analysis. Meaning, this is used to determine if an executable is malicious before being executed. The outcome of the project: Given the initial goal of attempting to get a model that was over 75% accurate, and that we saw our model performing at around 99.7% accuracy; we considered this research project to be successful. Our false positive and negative rates looked extremely encouraging as they’re both well below 1% and leave room for additional threshold tuning in either direction. Of course, this was only a small subset of the malware that exists in the world today, so future work could certainly be done utilizing the same model against various kinds of malware other than crypto miners. Additionally, this model could be leveraged by many other file types besides Windows executables.

Saloni Shah

I am getting quality education at a pace of my choosing.

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After I had my first child, I decided to take a break from workforce and care for her fulltime. After having my second child, while I take care of him; I have decided to upgrade my skills as I plan to rejoin workforce. I am hoping that this program will help me enhance my skills and experience to get back into the workforce.Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Read ahead of program expectations and plan accordingly. Be prepared.