The Information Technology reunion held on campus during the fall Open House brought a diverse group of graduates back to campus. Graduates from several departments within the division and and varied career backgrounds in IT attended. Kynal Hester (Computer Technology 1993) made his first visit back since graduation. Kynal is currently an IT Technician at Ameristar Casino in St. Charles.
Other career updates from a few of our guests:
Robert Hamm (IWT 2010) gave this update, "I work as a web developer at Scott Air Force Base for the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC), a branch of the Army. I single handedly operate and develop the Defense Table of Official Distances (DTOD), which is the website used by all of the US government and military to calculate distance between locations. In addition, I am a contractor working from home doing web development for numerous companies in the St. Louis area."
Kyle Kinder (IT 2007) emailed these remarks, "I'm glad I came to the event. It was great to see all the changes and progress being made in the department. I'm excited for all the new things you have going on! I know the president mentioned that you are looking into starting a healthcare information path. I'm currently working at BJC, and although I'm no expert, I'd be happy to share some of the technologies I'm using and some of the things I see at BJC. My project is very closely related to the transition in healthcare from paper to digital."
Robert (Bobby) Chapman (IT 2007) is an engineer in data modeling for MasterCard and is responsible for designing conceptual, logical, and physical relational data models for applications and performs data analysis to ensure the integrity of Enterprise data. Chapman remarked, "Thanks for inviting me to the alumni IT reunion. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed being back at Ranken and seeing everyone again. I'd be interested in attending a Ranken homecoming if you offered one."
Other updates received from IT grads who were unable to attend:
Andrew Fouse (IT 2007) in a recent email exchange with the Alumni Office sent this career update, "After graduating Ranken, I found a job with a local consulting company and quickly started taking on wireless projects. I began traveling the nation assisting in the design and roll out of multiple large scale wireless deployments. In 2008, I'd heard that a company named FusionStorm was opening an office in St. Louis and needed a wireless expert. I soon found myself building out FusionStorm's wireless practice and growing the wireless opportunities with enterprise level customers, most notably Apple. For the past 4 years I have been designing and deploying wireless networks for Apple, around the world. Just over a year ago, I was promoted to engineering management. I now manage a team of about 25 engineers who all travel globally to support all of our enterprise customers. I am proud to say that I have been able to hire three other Ranken graduates, who have all proven to be amazing additions to the team and am I working diligently to increase that number."
Alumni reunions are held throughout the year. The next alumni reunion is scheduled from 12:00 to 1:00 during the April 21, 2013 campus car show that runs from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. All graduates are invited to attend. This is a great day to meet up with old friends, enjoy family time and check out the classic cars on display.