4. Professional Development
Creating a Holistic Candidate: Leadership + Soft Skills in the Field
Ace the Showcase
Ace the Showcase was created to help members prepare for the recruitment process at Career Showcase. It
is an event that is held twice a year, before the Career Resource Center’s Career Showcase every semester.
The event was a small group, round-robin layout with four focus areas: professional etiquette, company
research, professional dress and layout of the showcase, and talking with recruiters. The groups were about
eight members each, which allowed for greater discussion and question asking within the groups. Once the
groups finished rotating through each topic station executive board members worked on basic resume
critiquing. The overall intent of this event was to promote confidence in members as they enter the campus
recruiting season, especially for those that have not had such exposure.
Mock Mixer
Mock Mixer is hosted twice a year, the week before AIS’s Pre-
Showcase Corporate Mixer. The event allows members to
practice talking with executive board members who are acting
as recruiters. The event is set up with the same number of
mock recruiters as actual companies that attended the Pre-
Showcase Corporate Mixer and the table layout is similar to
the actual venue, so members were able to get realistic
practice. This practice run promotes confidence in members as
they feel more familiar with the recruiting process.
Technical Interviewing Workshop by SSP
SSP, a Gator100 company specializing in GIS, hosted a hybrid information session and professional
development workshop in the Spring semester, that addressed both how to stand out in a technical interview
and informed our members about the various opportunities within SSP. More often than not, our members
encounter technical interviews during their office visits and do not know the proper ways to tackle them. SSP
provided our members a ‘peak behind the curtain’ on how technical companies conduct these interviews as
well as allowed attendees to work through logic questions that are similar to the ones given during the hiring
process. The workshop taught our members how to approach these questions and the importance of
explaining their thought process out loud to the interviewer in order to ace their technical interviews!
Ace the Internship: Member Intern Panel
Ace the Internship was designed for members who are preparing to take on their summer internship with
various companies. The layout was a panel discussion that featured members who had previously held
summer internships. Frequently asked questions were created prior to the event to facilitate discussion
between the panel and members, although members were also encouraged to ask questions. The event aims
to help members achieve success during their summer internships, which often lead to full-time offers.
Summer Plans by Leigh Graves Hall, GBCS
In Spring 2016, AIS partnered with Hough Graduate Business Career Services to host a Summer Plans event to
cover topics that included: creating your own internship, searching for relevant short-term work, self-learning
and continuing your education, and preparing for the next recruitment season. This event focused on helping
members who had not secured an internship yet for the summer and were unsure of what steps to take now
that both the Fall and Spring Career Showcase had passed. Throughout the presentation and discussion, the
underlying message was for members to remain positive and look at alternative ways to gain experience.
5. Project Management Workshop by GE
In the Fall semester, AIS partnered with GE to host a Project Management Workshop with Lou Ortega, Matt
Ausman, and Jamie Voisin. The GE professionals walked our members through the project management
lifecycle with an example containing real world application. The session taught our members about the many
practical skills, techniques and perspectives involved in an IT project and its timeline from planning at the
beginning stages to accounting for potential risks and completing risk management.
Technical Skills Workshops: Python, VBA, Linux
Via the ISOM program, our members learn a few programming languages, learn to use Solver with Excel and
learn how to create databases in Access. However, unless they take the IT track, they may not learn how to
mix their programming skills with their Access databases and outside of Java and C#, they would have to pick
up other programming languages and skills on their own.
In the Fall semester, Michael Cordoba, an ISOM grad and current Deloitte Technology Advisory Associate,
taught our members the basics of Python and how to extract and manipulate data using the popular
programming language.
In the Spring semester, Yoel Lapscher, an ISOM student with prior experience with P&G, hosted a VBA
Workshop for AIS members to utilize and apply their programming skills in Excel.
Also in the Spring semester, Jixin Feng, a PhD candidate from
UF’s ECE Department, gave AIS members a crash course on
using Linux with Command Line and taught us how to use
terminal to figure out what exactly happens behind the scenes
when you manage files on a computer. Utilizing basic terminal
operations, our members were able to manage a remote
computer using SSH (secure shell), transmit files through
networks and download code repositories from GitHub.
Bridging the Gap: Alumni Seminar Series
In Spring 2016, AIS also launched Bridging the Gap, an Alumni Seminar Series to reconnect alumni with
current AIS/ISOM students and help shed light on life post ISOM. The series consisted of seven alumni in
varying roles that came together to answer questions on their experiences in the work field and how their
careers have evolved post ISOM. The goal of the event was to provide a platform for current members to
interact with and reach out to Alumni while learning about the different career possibilities after graduation.
The three main themes of the event were Personal Brand, Leadership in the Field and Goals & Aspirations.
Professional Etiquette by Dr. Berry
Each semester, Dr. Berry, a professor within the Hough Graduate School of Business and head of Berry and
Associates (a communications consulting practice), presents on professional etiquette and the notion of
global citizenship. Her presentation includes advice for professional development, corporate dining, and body
language. Through her hands-on practice exercises and resources, she ensures that our members are
prepared to successfully present themselves at the Career Showcase, within the Graduate Business School
and in the professional world outside of UF.
6. Community Service
Helping the Community and Sharing the Magic of Technology
UF AIS’s Community Service is our version of Corporate Citizenship and Responsibility. Through engagement
with the greater community, our members gain valuable skills and experience while giving back to
meaningful causes. This Spring, UF AIS hosted four events directly focused on bettering the community.
Boys & Girls Club of Alachua County
Our members pride themselves on being able to give back to the Gainesville community, especially its youth.
This past March we visited the Woodland Park Boys and Girls Club of Alachua County. Engaging with the
youth at the Boys & Girls Club enabled our members to participate in mentorship out of the professional
realm and allowed our members to give back to the youth of Gainesville by helping with their homework,
caring for their community garden and even playing interactive games with them outside.
Jungle Friends Monkey Sanctuary
Who doesn’t love working with animals? Especially if those animals are “adorable” little monkeys. A group of
our members spent their Saturday with the Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary, a sanctuary for monkeys who
are retired from lab research, ex-pets, or
monkeys brought in from abusive homes. Our
members helped lend a hand to repair
various sanctuaries, clean landscapes in the
monkeys’ habitat, and chop produce for the
monkeys’ diets. The activities, although
focusing primarily on hard labor, really
brought out the leadership qualities in our
members. Whether it was taking charge on
moving the habitat, directing the group on
when to lift, or keeping up everyone’s morale
throughout the day with positivity and
laughter, everyone had a chance to showcase
their strengths and bond as a group.
7. Relay for Life
At Relay for Life events, communities across the globe come together to honor cancer survivors, remember
loved ones lost, and fight back against a disease that has already taken too much. Our members were able to
raise $300 within a three-day period. The funds we collected go to surviving family members who were affected
by the disease and also towards research that will
help make a difference in the fight against
cancer. Relay for Life teams camp out overnight
and take turns walking or running around a track
or path at a local high school, park, or fairground.
At UF, this year’s Relay for Life was held at Flavet
Field. In addition to donating and raising funds
for the cure, our members participated in many
other activities hosted by other UF organizations
to continue the fundraising effort. Relay for Life
is a great opportunity for our members to
support each other, those affected by cancer,
and the community at large.
Data Extraction & Visualization Case Competition with PwC
Every year, AIS pairs up with a company (it was Accenture in the Fall semester) to host their Case
Competition. This Spring semester, we wanted to take the competition into our own hands and decided that
it would be neat to not only have our members compete to create something of value utilizing the skills we
have learned throughout the year but also to create something that could be beneficial to a local nonprofit
organization. AIS decided to build upon our partnership with the Boys & Girls Club to help them with trend
analysis, data evaluation and visualization. Technology is a powerful tool that can be very instrumental in
creating social impact. This case competition gave our members the opportunity to really put their technical
and presentation skills to the test for the greater good. The winning team also won $50 gift cards from PwC!
8. Fundraising
Funds Breakdown
Revenue Source Fall 2015 Spring 2016 Fiscal Year TOTAL
Department Funding Allowance* $5,000 (60.30%) $5,000 (82.26%) $10,000 (69.59%)
Student Dues $1,226.77 (14.79%) $625.72 (10.29%) $1,852.49 (12.89%)
Recruiter Fees $424.66 (5.12%) $396.04 (6.52%) $820.70 (5.71%)
Fundraising $141.07 (1.70%) $56.60 (.93%) $197.67 (1.38%)
Sponsorship $1,500.00 (18.09%) $0.00 (0%) $1,500.00 (10.44%)
TOTAL $8292.50 (100%) $6078.36 (100%) $14,370.86 (100%)
*Important note: The $5,000 “Department Funding Allowance” is not a liquid asset. It is used to pay expenses
for the mixer and any other AIS Expenditure that can be invoiced to the University of Florida ISOM
Department. Any amount that is not used up is retained by the Department and does not carry over.
External Fundraising: Corporate Sponsorship
This year, AIS restructured our sponsorship packages and we were fortunate enough to have two Corporate
Sponsors. Both AirWatch and Protiviti not only recruited heavily from AIS and the ISOM program but also
made generous donations to support our activities and the professional development of our members. Their
donations accounted for 18% of our Fall revenue and 10% of our fiscal year total.
Internal Fundraising: Bake Sales
The main source of internal fundraising in both the Fall and
Spring semesters consisted of bake sale fundraising events put
on by members of AIS in cooperation with the Hough Graduate
School of Business at the University of Florida. The Fall Bake Sale
was titled “Global Goodies” and encouraged members of AIS to
bake a treat from their home country and bring it in to sell to
graduate students to raise money for AIS and a portion of the
proceeds also went to the Boys & Girls Club in the form of a
donation. In the Spring, another successful bake sale was put on
and it is our intention to continue to host a bake sale once a
semester as a recurring event for members of AIS.
Local Business Initiatives
AIS strives to maintain professional relations with companies that foster the growth and development of our
members. This year we sought to create meaningful relationships with local businesses in order to encourage
partnerships that would provide continual benefits for our members. Our most successful local outreach was
working with Dough Religion, a new restaurant to the Gainesville area that is located near the University of
Florida campus and has a target demographic of students. We managed to get favorable rates for social
events and feel confident that our relationship with Dough Religion will continue for the foreseeable future.
