Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology Information Technologies students made invaluable connections and gained greater insight into their future careers while meeting with Saint Francis Health System IT managers.

An IT Manager Meet & Greet was held on April 2 in the ET/IT Building, giving IT students the opportunity to gain expert knowledge from five Saint Francis IT managers and to discuss potential job opportunities at Saint Francis.

Kathleen Olivieri, assistant dean of the School of Technology, Arts, Sciences and Health, said Saint Francis officials contacted OSUIT and proposed that their IT managers meet with students.

“For five of their managers to volunteer to come and see our students and check out what we're doing, I think, is the best compliment we could ever receive,” Olivieri said.

Brusse James, systems director over technical systems for Saint Francis, was one of the five IT managers who visited with students, answering questions and speaking one-on-one with them about their professional interests.

“We're very excited for the opportunity to build a local pipeline to understand what the students' desires are, what they expect from their career when they get out of their degree program here, what kind of fields they want to go into and how we can really, like I said, build a pipeline of people here to get into Saint Francis and really build a partnership that way,” James said. “Saint Francis is very involved in community stuff, and we want to make sure that we're reaching out where we can.”

IT is instrumental to Saint Francis’ operations, James said.

Saint Francis IT personnel provide support to clinicians in hospitals serving patients, according to James.

“We serve the people that serve the patients,” he said. “We deliver multitudes, plethoras of technologies to them to be able to do their job. We’re always innovating, always trying to find creative ways, solutions and programs.”

Levi Kindred is studying cybersecurity and digital forensics at OSUIT. He’s finishing his second and final year of the program. He attended the Saint Francis Meet & Greet to explore job possibilities.

“Saint Francis has been a place I've been looking at getting a job at, and I'm at the end of my program, so I'm wanting to get a job right now,” Kindred said.

Joe Mensah, an information technologies student who lives in Moore and attends OSUIT online classes, traveled to Okmulgee and attended the Meet & Greet.

“I'm looking for career growth, and when I heard that the Saint Francis managers would be here, I just decided to take the day off work and come in,” Mensah said.

Mensah plans to complete OSUIT’s two-year IT associate’s degree program and then proceed toward a bachelor’s degree. He aspires to have a career in either cybersecurity or cloud engineering.

He said OSUIT’s online IT curriculum gives him the time and space he needs to fulfill other life obligations.

“I think if you are a full-time working person, this is the best program to apply for because it fits perfectly with my schedule and everything,” Mensah said.

IT instructor Daniel Schmidt said the Meet & Greet gave IT students a chance to capitalize on the skills they gained at OSUIT and develop new ones.

“It allows students the opportunity to network with industry leaders and to be able to build skills from being able to speak with them,” Schmidt said.

Hannah Miller, a senior talent partner at Saint Francis and a former OSUIT student, participated in the Meet & Greet.

“I know the quality of students that are coming from this school, and those are exactly the kind of students that have the hands-on training and experience that I'm looking for when I'm doing my hiring,” she said.

Saint Francis cherishes its relationship with OSUIT and is strongly aware of the talent it produces, Miller said.

“It was really exciting to be able to get all my director-level managers to come on-site and actually talk to our students. We're looking to really build a strong pipeline of OSUIT students coming straight into the workforce and coming to work for us,” she said.

OSUIT and Saint Francis share a long, enduring relationship. Olivieri said many OSUIT graduates go on to work for Saint Francis. Also, Saint Francis administrators are members of OSUIT’s Industry Advisory Board. Their input provides invaluable industry insight, according to Schmidt.

“One of the main things is we get to see what is actually going on in industry, what is needed for [the students’] future careers. They come back to us and tell us, ‘Hey, this is what we need to focus on in the curriculum.’ [They recommend] what we need to start pushing towards and advise us on that area,” Schmidt said.

OSUIT and Saint Francis's relationship helps students, and Oklahoma prosper, Olivieri said.

“Our students are doing great things. They're getting jobs in Oklahoma, and they're going on and making us look good, and we're so proud of our students,” she said.