Tell Me About Your Tech Job!

Alan Wieckert - Contract Working in Chicagoland and a New Tech Business Endeavor

Alan Wieckert has always been a "techie" but didn't find his way officially into an IT role until he attended Rend Lake College and SIU as a non-traditional student. Since graduating from the IST program at SIU in 2014, Alan has worked in a variety of roles in Chicagoland and most recently from his new home base in Southern Illinois. Alan also announces the beginning of a new endeavor as CTO of Black Mirror Technology, a Managed Services Provider based out of Darien, IL.  Check out Black Mirror Technology here: https://blackmirrortechnology.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanwieckert

Ellen Jahn - Supporting the Business Applications for the SIU System

Ellen Jahn's role is a Business Analyst and Project Manager for SIU’s ERP system (Oracle E-Business Suite) focused on HR and Payroll Processing. She supports the technology that runs many of the business processes for the entire SIU system. As a native of Makanda, Ellen took a non-traditional route to a tech career, obtaining a literature degree and later a telecommunications graduate diploma. Ellen holds the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification and has had a part in many tech projects at SIU and other local organizations. For fun, Ellen likes to scuba dive!

Taylor Calloni - Securing Healthcare Systems in Southern Illinoisan

Taylor Calloni is a proud IST and SIU graduate and lifelong southern Illinois resident. After transferring to SIU from Rend Lake College, Taylor knew a career in technology was the right fit for him and working for campus IT during his schooling and as a full time team member after graduating provided a wealth of experience and helped develop new skills. Today he works for a large healthcare provider as a cybersecurity engineer and runs his own side business helping his local community with their tech needs. Outside of work, Taylor is a car enthusiast and passionate supporter of the St. Louis City SC soccer team.

Marquist Johnson - A Technology Career With a Side of Fun and Creativity

Marquist Johnson is a young technology professional whose career journey originally started at SIU as a marketing major but ultimately switched into the Information Systems Technologies. His professional experiences ranges from companies like Boeing, McDonald’s to non profit organizations in Chicago. For fun, Marquist loves seeing live music and cheering on the Chicago Cubs.

Jori Krasner - Guiding Sales Teams and Customers to Red Hat & IBM Solutions

Jori K grew up in the Chicago suburbs and graduated SIU with an IST degree in 2015. After some time working in healthcare IT, Jori joined a large technology distributor where he focused growing his knowledge of Red Hat enterprise products and solutions. As a Field Solutions Architect, Jori helps sales team members answer customer questions and ensure the right solutions are provided to the customer. In his free time Jori loves playing disc golf. Fore!

Jim Jakobsze -Helping Hospitals with Healthcare Network Needs

James Jakobsze grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago and started his first job in a tech field as a mobile audio and electronics installer for a local Best Buy. Jim's interest in the field took him to study Electronics Systems Technologies (EST) and earning his degree from SIU in 2003. With 20 years in healthcare technology, and 17 working directly for GE HealthCare, today Jim leads two teams for GE; one working on HL7 integrations and the other designing wireless networks for medical customers. Family activities and vacations, LinkedIn Learning, and admiring classic cars keep him busy when not using his CCNP and leadership skills for GE HealthCare.

Richard Smith - Leading SIU’s Student Empowered Security Team

Richard has worked in technology for over twenty years. Richard has spent the last 10 years working in Information Technology at SIU in a variety of roles, including datacenter and cloud infrastructure management as well as information security. He has been involved with a number of impactful projects at SIU alone including datacenter rebuilds and physical to virtual migrations, identity and access management solutions, mail hygiene (security) toolsets, network security, account hardening (MFA) and more. Outside of the technical, being able to mentor and see growth in students over the years is one of the most fulfilling parts of working in academia.

Alex Elouati - Recent Grad Supporting Customers’ Cloud Connected Infrastructure

Alexander is a Network Support Engineer - a technical interface for customers ranging from all experience levels to engage with on issues/concerns/questions revolving around Meraki products and solutions. He assists customers by wearing the Meraki SME hat with issues ranging from complete network outages to guiding new customers through deployment of Meraki solutions. He loves the opportunity to take on issues most Network Engineers will never see in their life; as well as the collaboration element with customers/internal teams.

USAF Lt Col Jessica Dwyer -Leading AFROTC Cadets and Director of Dept. of Aerospace Studies at SIU

Lieutenant Colonel Jessica Dwyer is the Commander of Air Force ROTC Detachment 205 and the Director of the Department of Aerospace Studies at Southern Illinois University. Known as "Hammer" for her no-nonsense approach to enforcing standards in her classrooms and training environments, Lt Col Dwyer earned an undergraduate degree in Physics. While serving in the U.S. Air Force, she obtained a Masters degree in Physics and Astronomy from Dartmouth College and a PhD in Curriculum & Instruction from Kansas State University. As an active duty Air Force officer, Lt Col Dwyer has served as a basic research scientist, a faculty member at the U.S. Air Force Academy, in a role supporting the placement of Air Force scientists in mission units, and most currently as the Commander of the AFROTC Detachment 205 at SIU. Jessica was an intercollegiate athlete and captain of the women's soccer team at the University of Mary Washington and resides in southern Illinois with her husband and two daughters.

Cameron Barker - Cloud Engineer Building Platforms for Agritech Business

Cameron B earned his IST degree from SIU in 2017, following in the footsteps of big brother, Calen. After time working for a corporate healthcare IT company in Kansas City, a slower pace of life back in his hometown and work for a smaller company as a Cloud Engineer is what he currently enjoys.