association for information systems annual report:...

Association for Information Systems

Annual Report: 2016-2017

Georgia College & State University

2016-2017 AIS Annual Report | 2

A Letter from Our President

Greetings,

The Georgia College & State University (GCSU) Student Chapter of the Association for

Information Systems (AIS) had an incredible year. Within the past year, we continued our

process of reforming the GCSU AIS chapter by engaging our student body with fun and exciting

events for them to attend. We planned several industry professionals to come and speak,

continued to enrich our local community with service projects, we sent two of our members to

SAPPHIRE NOW, SAP’s annual user conference held in Orlando, FL, thanks to tickets provided by

the SAP University Alliance. We sent one of our members to the Grace Hopper Women in

Technology conference in Houston, TX, where she received a job offer from AT&T where she

will participate in a development program once she arrives. Upon completion of the program,

she will be either a systems analyst, scrum master or information technology project manager.

Finally, we sent an all-female AIS Student Leadership Conference held, this year, in Provo, Utah,

on the campus of Brigham Young University.

Engaging Students

This year, GCSU AIS brought in guest speakers from Brooksource, Infinity Network Solutions,

Intermedia, Norfolk Southern, Winshuttle, Southern Eagle Consulting, EY, Lockheed Martin,

NCR, and The Proven Method. At each event, students were able to hear from these industry

professionals about how they information systems influence their careers. Students were then


able to ask how they can better their knowledge of information systems, how to prepare for

interviews with companies, and they were able to ask if the company represented was

currently seeking job applicants.

Conferences

In May of 2016, two of our members attended SAPPHIRE NOW, SAP’s annual user

conference. While attending the event in Orlando, Florida, we were able to network with

industry professionals who all either use, sell, or teach SAP products or services. One highlight

from the trip was the networking event sponsored by Deloitte. Deloitte invited all SAP

University Alliance students to network with them while enjoying a meal at a local restaurant.

In October of 2016, our Communications Director went to the Grace Hopper Women in

Technology conference hosted in Houston, TX. While there, she was offered a job from AT&T

which she will start in June 2017!

In April of 2017, eight GCSU AIS members flew to Provo, Utah, to attend the AIS Student

Chapter Leadership Conference held on the beautiful campus of Brigham Young University.

Prior to the conference beginning, our members enjoyed exploring the sites and beautiful

landscape surrounding the campus. The team spent two days hiking and enjoying team building

activates. Of the eight in attendance, four members made our all-female team competing in the

AmerisourceBergen Analytics Challenge. At the end of the competition, the ladies of GCSU AIS

placed second in the world, first in the southeast, and first in the state of Georgia in data


analysis. A huge accomplishment for these amazing women who will continue to shatter the

gender barrier as women in technology!

Looking Ahead

GCSU AIS has an exciting year ahead of it. I look back on the past two years I have been

able to serve as President of GCSU AIS with pride. In everything we do, we ensure that our

mission to, “promote the study, application, and advancement of information systems through

career enhancement, professional networking, and chapter development” is honored. We look

forward to what the future holds, and we are proud to be a part of the Association for

Information Systems.

Hayden Helms

GCSU AIS President

April 28, 2017


A. Summary

• Professional Development

o Guest Lecturer – Wynne Rosenbleeth

▪ Brooksource

o GCSU IT Career Fair

o ASUG Meetings

o 2017 AIS SCLC

• Community Service

o Cyberbullying and Online Safety Presentations

• Fundraising

o T-Shirt Sales

• Membership

• Communications

o Communications Director, Anna Lidzba, increased our

overall presence by enhancing our online presence.


▪ Facebook

▪ Twitter

▪ Website

• Careers in “IS”

o At Georgia College, we love being able to blend content

together to make it stronger. Our MIS degree is a part of

the J. Whitney Bunting College of Business

• Chapter Operations

o Officers

▪ President

▪ Vice President

▪ Secretary

▪ Treasurer

o Directors

• Budget/Financial Statement

• Metrics and Demographics


B. Professional Development

Guest Lecturer – Wynne Rosenbleeth

Wynne Rosenbleeth of Brooksource, an IT recruiting company in Atlanta, came to GCSU to give

a presentation on professional development. She conducted mock interviews during the day,

and she gave fantastic feedback to our members and guests in attendance. GCSU AIS hosted

Wynne’s visit and facilitated the interviews. At the conclusion of the mock interviews, Wynne

was able to attend our chapter meeting that evening and gave a presentation on our

professional presence. Wynne discussed LinkedIn profiles and the best ways to use LinkedIn as

a tool in the job search. We reviewed etiquette, professional dress, résumé building, and much

more as it pertained to our internship or job search.

GCSU IT Career Fair

Many of our members participated in the annual IT Career Fair at GCSU. Over 23 companies

attended the career fair seeking students to come and work as either interns or full-time

positions.

ASUG Meetings

Many of our members attended both the fall and spring Georgia ASUG meetings in Atlanta at

the Loudermilk Center. While in attendance our members were able to network with members


of the SAP user group as well as seeing presentations from members on the work they were

doing with SAP. Members were able to see different career opportunities with SAP and

Analytical tools.

2017 AIS SCLC

Eight of our members attended the annual AIS Student Chapter Leadership Conference. This

year the conference was held in Provo, Utah. While there our team of four women competed in

the Merck Challenge. They used Power BI to pinpoint regions at high risk for type II diabetes.

The team placed second in the Analytics competition.


C. Community Service

Technology Fairs

GCSU AIS is dedicated to helping our local community through local schools in the Baldwin County area.

Technology fairs are hosted at Creekside Elementary and Blandy Hills Elementary for young aspiring

students interested in the information technology field. GCSU AIS members volunteer as judges at these

competitions, using their knowledge and experience with technology to give constructive feedback and

to determine which submissions will advance to the county level competition. Categories at these

competitions include areas such as robotics, programming, multimedia, and animation. These fairs

provide opportunities for young students, allowing them to advance their knowledge of information

technology. AIS members also gain leadership and communication experience, acting as role-models

and sharing their assessments of submissions with the contestants

GCSU AIS also engaged in presentations on Cyberbullying and Online Safety to students in the Baldwin

County area at local elementary schools. We engaged fifth grade students though an interactive fifty-


minute presentation that highlighted ways to combat cyberbullying as well as proactive approaches to

help prevent attacks from happening. Students participating signed a pledge to be up standers. We

logged over 25 hours of community service in the presentations we completed. There was a

Cyberbullying and Online Safety coloring contest that students were able to participate in as well.

D. Fundraising

GCSU AIS relies on funding from the Information Technology Advisory Board, the Student

Activities Budget Committee, student membership fees, and revenue from our club uniform.

This funding is mainly used for the membership fee of AIS, traveling expenses, and lodging


expenses. The remaining funds are used for refreshments at our club meetings and guest

speaker presentations. Funding from the IT Advisory Board and the Student Activities Budget

Committee has allowed our members to travel across the nation and represent our school at

the AIS Student Leadership Conference, as well as supporting our local activities, such as club

meetings, recruitment, and social events.

E. Membership

The majority of GCSU AIS’ student chapter is comprised of senior students. Overall, our chapter

is comprised mostly of men. We continually strive to create diversity in our chapter. We desire

to see more and more people to join our program.

Mergers

To accomplish the goal of increasing membership, GCSU AIS merged with the GCSU E-

Commerce Club and absorbed all of their members as GCSU AIS members. Their President and

GCSU AIS Secretary, Grant Peagler, was tapped as the E-Commerce Director to continue to

serve in an operating capacity over the E-Commerce Committee that was created by the

merger. GCSU AIS is currently in talks with Georgia College & State University’s Women in

Technology Club to merge with GCSU AIS and become a committee like E-Commerce already

has. If this is accomplished, our membership will grow even further, and the number of women

in GCSU AIS will skyrocket.


Incentives

While gaining new members is always a goal, retaining old members is always important. To

create value for our members, we bring in guest speakers from industry, provide food and

beverages at every meeting, attend academic and professional conferences centered around

information systems and professional development, and we participate in inter-university

competitions between student organizations.

F. Communications

Our chapter has a position directly related to the communications, Anna Lidzba is our

Communications Director. She works with Victoriana Lord, our Website Director, as well as the

executive board, to maintain interest in our group by keeping our Facebook, Twitter, and


website updated with information about club meetings and job or internship opportunities that

the Georgia College Management Information Systems department head passes along to us.

While our chapter attended the Association for Information Systems Student Chapter

Leadership Conference in Provo, Utah, on the campus of Brigham Young University our Twitter

(@gcsuAIS) had live updates on the progress of our travels and the competition in which we

competed. Our Facebook also recognizes the members of our AIS chapter for their

achievements in other groups around campus and allows members or potential members to

communicate directly with the officers to give their feedback or show interest in the

organization. Links to our pages can be found below.

Website: http://ais.gcsu.edu/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gcsuais

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gcsuais/

G. Careers in “IS”

Throughout the school year, we promoted the field of Information Systems to the incoming

freshmen class of Georgia College. AIS representatives talked to large groups of potential

students and their families about the benefits of pursing the major Management Information

Systems and the benefits of joining AIS. Many freshman had never heard of the Management

Information Systems degree, but sending relatable students who could speak first-hand on their

experience with the major seemed to peak their and their families interest. The Georgia College

http://ais.gcsu.edu/

https://www.facebook.com/gcsuais

https://twitter.com/gcsuais/


Association for Information Systems felt that it was very important to the spread the knowledge

of how valuable a Management Information Systems degree is in the corporate world. We

emphasized that knowledge gained in our MIS curriculum is a blend of technical and business

knowledge, and that MIS is about applying information technology to business problems. With

this in mind, we stress the importance of not only the technical skills gained through a degree in

MIS from Georgia College, but also the soft or business skills such as networking, leadership,

etiquette, and public speaking in order to create a more well-rounded student.

H. Chapter Operations

Officers

• President: Hayden Helms

o Responsible for being the face of our organization. He oversees all members and

officers and helps organize events for students to engage industry professionals.

• Vice President: Mitchell Pope

o Aids the President in leading our chapter. Assumes the role of President

whenever the President is unable to be in attendance. Leads all of the Directors

directly.

• Treasurer: Anthony Busby

o Controls the organization’s funds. He also aids in the creation of the annual

report’s financial section.


• Secretary: Grant Peagler

o Responsible for recording notes and sensitive information for executives, and

sends out meeting minutes.

Directors

• Communications Director: Anna Lidzba

o Responsible for maintaining all public forms of communication and the public

image of AIS. This includes Social Media and Press Releases (PR).

• Community Service Director: Ashley Vickers

o Coordinates all community service projects performed by AIS.

• E-Commerce Director: Grant Peagler

o Responsible for managing all projects in which AIS members work with

organizations to improve the e-commerce systems.

• Events Co-Director: Jack Clark

o Coordinating all on-campus events hosted such as: guest speakers, group

activities, or anything else hosted on Georgia College’s campus.

• Events Co-Director: Mitchell Watkins

o Coordinating all off-campus events attended by AIS.

• Recruitment Co-Director: Annie Collier

o Responsible for working with Harry Lambert to recruit students to join AIS.

• Recruitment Co-Director: Harry Lambert

o Responsible for working with Annie Collier to recruit students to join AIS.


• SGA Liaison: Jack Fraser

o Works with Student Government Association to provide funding for GCSU AIS.

• Website Director: Victoriana Lord

o Responsible for maintaining and upgrading the AIS website.

I. Budget/Financial Statement

Revenues Expected Fall 2016 Spring 2017

IT Advisory Board Donation $1,600.00 $1,600.00

Membership Dues $400.00 $680.00 $20.00

T-Shirt Sales $200.00 $200.00

Student Activity Budget Committee Funds $500.00 $700.00

SGA Bill $4,000.00 $4,000.00

Totals $6,700.00 $1,380.00 $5,820.00

Grand Total $7,200.00

Expenses Budgeted Fall 2016 Spring 2017

Chapter Fees $500.00 $500.00

Club Meeting Budget $377.87 $604.07 $27.16

T-Shirt Expense $337.40 $337.40

AIS SCLC $5,600.00 $5,600.00

Total $6,815.27 $604.07 $6,464.56

Grand Total $7,068.63

Net Income $131.37

Operating Supplies and Expenses Remainder $16.60

Petty Cash $269.79

Total Funds Carried Over $286.39


J. Metrics and Demographics

Member breakdown

Our chapter consists of 32 members, up from 24 last year. Of our 32 members, 19 are seniors,

11 are juniors and 2 are sophomores.

Seniors60%

Juniors34%

Sophomores6% Chart Title

Seniors Juniors Sophomores


Chapter Diversity:

Meetings and Attendance

We hosted two meetings a month: One for the officers and directors and the other as a general

meeting for all chapter members. Of our 14 total meetings, attendance was consistent,

averaging 15-20 members for each group meeting.

Events and Activities Held

9/26 – AIS Presentation to Freshman MIS majors

10/17 – Wynn Rosenbleeth from Brooksource (IT staffing firm) spoke to our chapter about

potential job opportunities.

10/24 – Educational cyber bullying presentation to the young students at Creekside

Elementary.

22

10

Chart Title

Men Women


11/4 – Robert Betzel, CEO of Infinity Network Solutions spoke to our chapter about

entrepreneurship.

1/25 – David Roberts, a serial entrepreneur and IT consultant discussed corporate life vs. small

business life after just being let go from Intermedia following an acquisition.

2/13 – Rodney West, Information Systems Director at Norforlk Southern, spoke to our

members about the information systems and importance of data at Norfolk Southern.

3/8 – Bill Wiseman, Senior Soultions Engineer at Winshuttle, discussed what Winshuttle is doing

to improve productivity by users who normally interface with SAP’s GUI.

3/15 – Alex Gambill, an independent consultant currently working with Coca-Cola, talked with

our members about what he is doing with Coca-Cola and their SAP systems.

3/29 – Mark Paul, a recruiter with EY, came and talked to our members about a career at EY.

4/17 – Jay Riddle, an SAP BusinessObjects BI Architect at Lockheed Martin, talked to our

members about data analytics being done at Lockheed Martin.

4/19 – Kevin Wolfe, human resources manager at NCR spoke to our members about unifying a

company under one goal.

4/26 – Juan Nassiff, Director of Professional Services / Senior Consultant at The Proven Method

spoke to our members about how The Proven Method is using Microsoft PowerBI to run

Business Intelligence for customers.


The Georgia College & State University

Student Chapter of the Association for Information Systems

Faculty Contact Dr. Kevin Lee Elder

Faculty Advisor – GCSU AIS J. Whitney Bunting College of Business

[email protected]

Student Contact Grant Peagler

President-Elect GCSU AIS

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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