Undergraduate Admission
    Graduate Admission

    Featured Student


    Name: Maya Embar
    Major: Information Technology and Management
    Specialization: Project Management / Systems Analysis
    Level of Study: Undergraduate
    Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2014
    Hometown: Chicago, IL



    Tell us your story:
    When I was in high school I wanted to be a writer. When I went away to college at 18, I just wanted to be invisible. I wasn’t able to accomplish either. I didn’t believe in myself and I never saw myself as smart. In 2005 I decided to go back to school to get my Associates Degree. This time I was going to school for ME. I didn’t even tell anyone that I had enrolled or applied for Financial Aid or picked my classes. I was too afraid that I would fail and disappoint everyone. Then I started taking classes and found out that I was good. I was able to be creative AND technical and was no longer intimidated by those who could do what I could not. Suddenly it was a challenge and an opportunity rather than a fear. And I LOVED computers and IT.

    In 2010 I was helping my boyfriend research Tech schools and started reading through IIT’s course catalog and degree programs and decided I wanted to go too. I have found out what I am good at and know that even if I don’t do as well as another student in a certain class it just means that I am better at other things and they are better in that particular area. I have found that there are things that I am really good at that make others blink in confusion. There are things that I’m not so great at that others can do in their sleep. It’s taken me a long time to understand that those differences don’t make one person stronger and the other weaker - it just makes them different. And that’s the way it should be.

    I know what I want to do - where I want to end up. I am taking my time and taking an education path that’s right for me.  It might not be what someone else would do or want, but each person at our school is here for their own dream. What’s yours?


    Where do you work?
    Illinois Institute of Technology - Rice Campus


    Job Title?
    Student Assistant


    What interested you about IIT?
    I was researching technical schools for a friend and the more I read about the variety of classes offered and the different areas of study, the more I realized that I wanted to go too. It helped that the Rice Campus is 5 minutes from my house.


    Projects:

    • Project Winter – The Computer Systems Manager for IIT’s School of Applied Technology invited a team of students to help develop the department’s infrastructure. I was assigned to the role of Project Manager for the Team. My task was to manage all of the Projects and assure that the deliverables and documentation were collected and assembled into a master report.
    • Technology Research Assistant – I work for the School of Applied Technology at Rice Campus. Part of my job is to spec out the prices, compatibility, reliability, availability and specifications for hardware components needed to build the servers and workstations.


    Favorite tech item:
    TI-nSpire CAS-CX calculator (This thing is so advanced that I am pretty sure that if I asked it nicely, this thing would cook dinner for me.)


    Your proudest ITM moment:
    Being elected as Vice President of Gamma Nu Eta, the National Information Technology and Management (ITM) Honor Society


    If I could do 1 thing over again it would be…
    I would have paid more attention to the importance of Math and Science in high school.


    Biggest challenge:
    Maintaining a healthy and positive balance between School and Life and making sure that I don’t neglect things like eating and sleeping. Sometimes I become so focused on working on a project or assignment that I lose track of time and let myself get run down and exhausted.


    What do you want to do when you graduate?
    Work as a Project Manager doing Systems Analysis and Design.


    Advice for other students:

    • Activities / Experiences
      Find a way to get involved at IIT. Make your university education YOUR experience and find a way to become a part of the university rather than just attend it. It will make your studies more meaningful and you might find out things about yourself that you didn’t know existed.
    • Course Research
      Find the best combination of classes to help you excel in school. Don’t be afraid to take classes outside your area of study (Literature, Philosophy, Psychology, etc.). Nourishing your creative and verbal skills will help you achieve overall balance and develop important tools to use in your career. Having mad skills to write programs and code will be useless if you can not articulate and communicate with your bosses and co-workers. Ask other students about courses and instructors and find ones that would be a good fit. It will also help you to understand which classes have more intensive work loads so you can make sure that you don’t become overwhelmed.
    • Integrity
      Don’t try to cheat your way to a diploma - it will only harm you long term. Being able to pass a class or get a good grade is not the same thing as acquiring the knowledge and skills to actually be able to DO the job when you are hired. Students who cheat are not only cheating themselves out of a proper education, they are impacting the university as a whole. Don’t forget, if you get expelled you still have to pay back your Student Loans.
    • Balance
      You are more than just a student - you are a person too. Have some fun, spend time with friends… find the right balance so that you can be a good student. Don’t forget that there is a world outside of IIT’s halls. Be a part of that any chance you get or you won’t know how to function in the real world after you graduate.


    Something that others should know about you:
    I used to be afraid that I wouldn’t excel at IIT - that since I am not a genius at Math and Science that I wouldn’t be able to work in IT. It’s not true. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and IIT has a place for anyone who wants to learn. I’ve learned that my belief in myself makes me able to accomplish anything I set my mind on. I might not be a genius Unix coder or a whiz at Networking, but I am an exceptional Project Manager and my intuition, logistic, writing and communication skills will make me an exceptional Systems Analyst. If someone had asked me when I was in high school if I wanted to work in Technology when I grew up, I would have laughed at them and said, “Oh I could never do THAT, I’m not smart enough.” I’m glad that I was wrong.


    Is it okay for other students to contact you at your IIT email?
    Sure, membar@hawk.iit.edu