Maria Domingo-Jones

IN-DEPTH CONVERSATION WITH MARIA

 Year:  Senior (Honor Student)

 Major: Management Information Systems

 Why did you choose this major? In high school, i participated in a program call "CyberPatrol" that brought awareness of Cybersecurity to students. After going to Nationals our first year, I was interested in seeing what else I could learn about it. So when I got accepted to UWG, I looked in the MIS major because it was the closest study program and had a Cybersecurity concentration.

 How long have you worked at UWG? Since January 2024.

Title: Service Desk Student Assistant

Describe what you do here: I work at overseeing tickets in Ivanti, assist students with password resets, assist students with multi-factor authentication resets, and direct tickets to the appropriate departments.

What interests you/do you enjoy most about your job? I get to see bits and pieces about each department and learn more about the intricacies inside the ITS department. I get to see the reach of the ITS department. When you're sitting behind a desk, you don't really see it, but when we go out to help people, you get to see the impact we have on our faculty and staff, students, and even those just visiting the campus.

What is a goal you've accomplished or something you're proud of since working here? I'm very proud when someone calls who is desperately in need of our services, and I'm able to help solve their problem. I had someone call in really panicked because they needed to get their account set up as soon as possible and I let them know I could help them. I got their information and helped them out step by step to accomplish what they needed and afterward they were extremely grateful for my assistance. It felt really good being able to help them work through their issue instead of having to direct them to someone else. My favorite thing about working here is being able to help those students that feel like they don’t have anyone to help them. 

Aside from experience, what have you gained from your time here? Working here has shown me first-hand what office culture looks like. Coming from a work background in retail and food services, now I get a personalized experience seeing how the departments work and communicate with each other.

What career do you see for yourself? Data Analytics

What advice do you have for other students looking to get into the ITS field? The biggest think would be to reach out. Don't be afraid to ask about employment opportunities. I wasn't even aware of TechWest until my senior year, but I've learned student work is always needed, you just have to look.