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Kelley School of Business Indiana University Bloomington
MS in Information Systems

Fall 2015 Semester Reflection

Posted on by Kelley School

Given that this semester is already nearing the halfway point and my 5th year in Bloomington, Indiana is coming to a close, I saw it fitting to jot down some memories and helpful hints for those of you just starting either in undergrad or graduate school.

I am currently in the MSIS graduate program at IU. I majored in Economics as an undergrad and am originally from Fort Wayne. I am headed to Chicago this summer to start a new leg of my journey at Hitachi Consulting.

I want to reflect a little on my last (almost) 5 years. I started this journey on the doorsteps of Phi Gamma Delta, as freshman are inclined to live in the house in their freshman year. I then begin a spree of joining clubs and rushing to get involved before I really even knew what was out there. Luckily for me, I joined the right ones. But I suggest taking a little while to figure out what you enjoy and want to do in life before you starting showing up to call out meetings. From there, I spent the next several years enjoying fraternity life, dance marathons, and a Marine Corps Officer program. It wasn’t until towards the end of my junior year that life became a little derailed. (more…)

3+1 MSIS Case Competition 2015 Experience

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Joanne Wang
MSIS Student & 3+1 Case Competition 2015 Participant
It was my pleasure to participate in the MSIS 3+1 case competition last year. Team HunJoVa, formed by Kelley undergraduate students Hunter Ye, Vara Zhang, and I, experienced an intense yet exciting week with our coach and MSIS graduate, Jason Yang.
We were given merely three and a half days to analyze the technological problems within a hypothetical company and present the recommendations to MSIS professors. Winning the competition was definitely satisfying, but the friendships developed and knowledge learned throughout the process was invaluable. By applying theories learned in the classroom to real-world problems, I obtained fuller understandings of the business knowledge I have acquired throughout my undergraduate career. Finally, the best part of the case was how I was able to explore the world of technology consulting, a field I have always been interested in.
The positive case experience was definitely a deciding factor in my decision to study information systems.

My MSIS Experience

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Nadia Naoumoff

My undergraduate degree is in Arts Management from the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Although I took some Kelley business classes, I had little to no experience in IT prior to joining the program; my work experiences were in music management, music publicity, and event management.

But I was inspired because I knew the MSIS program was going to shape and prepare me for a wide range of roles and positions in the business world.

When I took time to really think about the usefulness of this type of degree, I remembered that IT is involved (whether strategically or operationally) with every industry and sector, and therefore, a degree in Business and IT would make me more valuable to a more broad range of businesses. (more…)

The Beginning of my MSIS journey

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“I want you to get into your teams and explain to your teammates your biggest fear”. My first thoughts were, “Wait…isn’t this orientation?  Shouldn’t we be receiving pertinent information about the start of the semester?”

In any event, I graciously waited for each of my teammates to share their biggest fear in hopes of running out of time for this exercise. We were given plenty of time to share our thoughts. So I hesitantly shared with the group my biggest fear.

After experiencing the judgment-free atmosphere and learning more about each of my teammates, I appreciated the exercise and others like it throughout the week of orientation. To learn my teammates’ backgrounds, strengths, and opportunities, and goals provided a beneficial understanding and appreciation as to why we all decided to commit to the MSIS program as well as, what we hope to gain from the program. Orientation also provided us an opportunity to get to know each other and the other students in the MSIS program.  Reflecting back on this experience, I was glad we had that time to get to know one another. (more…)

The eureka moment that led to my MSIS

Posted on by Kelley School

You’re an out-of-state student. Why in the world would you spend another year and more money to earn a master’s degree? Can’t it wait a few years?

Several family members and friends pebbled these questions at me when I decided to pursue a master’s degree in Information Science. Instead of rebutting with my school’s top rankings, I detailed my rationale and future value for this degree. My tale began with a “light bulb” moment during my summer internship.

While interning, I became well aware of a common problem. Key business decision-makers relied heavily on technology without fully understanding the constraints. Much of the discussion in meetings focused on clarifying the technology’s capabilities. What I discovered was not an issue with functionality, but in how users perceived the technologies available to them.

The business managers understood the technology to do far more than its capacity, leaving the firm exposed to possible internal and external risks. I knew then that the firm needed a person to understand both the business objectives and articulate the technology competence and value.

I wanted to be that person. The person management would consult before deciding the strategic direction for the firm.

Kelley’s MSIS program prepares students with the ability to bridge the gap between business and technology. It was a natural fit with my career goal. The program would equip me with the technical and analytical skills required to solve the problem at hand.

I couldn’t wait on that.


Ivana Payne is an MSIS student at the Kelley School of Business. She also earned a BS in Business Economics and Technology Management at the Kelley School. Her internship experiences range from IT internal audit to IT advisory at JP Morgan Chase, PwC, and PNC Bank. Ivana has accepted a full-time position with JP Morgan Chase.
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