Front and Center, Birkin Diana, MSIE '04
Like many of you, Birkin Diana has wasted no time in putting his Grad Center education to work. This 2004 grad has recently become a UNIX programmer for the prestigious Brown University library system.

Birkin is quick to give a nod to his time with us for helping him land this position. "The mix of intellectual learning, hands-on experience of software development and OS configuration, and a 'meta-level' study of system development and best-practices made me a good candidate."

Working for the Brown University library should be an invigorating for this talented alum. Among the projects he'll be involved with are: rolling out a search tool to allow students and faculty to search among multiple separate catalogs for books and online journals; developing and implementing a system to send data to a high-tech remote book-storage facility; and developing a system for searching and accessing digitally-archived information. This latter challenge can be of particularly effective for the high-wattage students of Brown. One example is being able to find, via a web-search on "Providence, Rhode Island textiles", an XML-tagged digital audio recording of, an "Interviewing Grandparents" project, and being able to listen to ten minutes of audio relating specifically to recollections of working in a textile factory.

Birkin should have no trouble succeeding with these projects. Referring to his time at the Grad Center, he notes: "Experience with learning new things enables me to confidently approach new challenges and situations." And asked if he would take his program again, now that he has been through it, he adds, "In a minute."

And would we gladly take him back? In a minute!

Class Notes

Sr. Mary T. Shea, MAT '99 wrote to us: "I am presently employed by Holyoke Community College, Holyoke MA, as their Web Site Coordinator. My job is to maintain the college web site and to be sure that the information on it is accurate and timely. I work in the Information Technology Department and therefore have an opportunity to learn a great deal more than my job would allow. I am also the backup for the help desk. We have a system of technical support for all employed at HCC. Therefore I have had the opportunity to work with employees on a number of different technical areas or to assign and log the resolution of the problem once our technicians have taken care of it. Therefore I am also learning what to do when... at all times. This has been an enriching and enjoyable experience. None of this would have been possible without the skills and credentials I received at the Graduate Center, Marlboro College. I went into the program the oldest and least competent. I finished "still the oldest" but a great deal wiser. Thank you for this opportunity."

Lana Butler, MSIT '04 has checked in: Right now I've moved to Tampa, FL. I have set up my own business: "Butler Web Design and Associates, LLC." I am working on a web site for a small business, 'Custom Boat Canvas.' All is well in sunny Tampa.

Joshua Farber, MAT '99 recently told us: I've been let go from Northfield Mount Hermon after 7 years, as they decided to discontinue both Educational Technology and Media as discrete programs with discrete staff while they consolidate the school to one campus. With the help of several job placement agencies specializing in prep school placement I've been looking for work as either a classroom teacher in History or English or as an Academic Technology Coordinator, but no luck yet. Thus, at the moment, we're looking at leaving school housing in 6 weeks with no idea where we'll go, work, or live from there. Good thing we've got a camper! Please let me know if you see anything appropriate in the New England, NY, PA, or NJ area -- we'd be especially excited about another boarding position, but at this point we can't afford to be picky!

In better news: we welcomed second child Cassia Jade to the world on April 14. Big sister Willow is proud as punch, and very protective. Grandpa Neil (MAT '99) is proud, too!

Also, I'll be presenting a workshop for Vermont public school teachers on Blogging in the Classroom on Friday the 20th at the Grad Center. Neil has more details -- he's coordinating the day-long event.

Deb Maynard, ISM '02 sent the following: "I'm project manager for a very interesting, very-ISM-like project, and thought you'd like to hear about it.

The project is to launch a web-based service for our customers (natural products stores) that will allow them to customize a standard monthly consumer circular by adding marketing content, selecting the products and prices they want to advertise, deciding what goes on the cover, etc. It's kind of a web-based page layout program that can make basic design decisions, with a database of 5000+ products behind it. The technology provides a web interface for the customization process and, when instructed to 'Publish' converts the web version into a hi rez pdf for the printer (offset). This technology has been in use in the hardware industry for several years.

The ISM-like qualities are: 1) it's so much fun 2) coordinating the work of many people from various areas of expertise . . . developers, designers, sales, marketing . . . 3) people on the project are in 5 states and 4 time zones 4) data from 3 business systems has to be melded into 1 database 5) it requires much communication to many different audiences - our customers, vendors, brokers, our technology partner, sales, purchasing, marketing, accounting 6) short timeline 7) we are able to legitimately use the buzz word "leverage"

Launch will be sometime in mid-May, and we'll continue to add features and further develop the marketing of the program over the next 6-12 months."

Jeff Renard, ITC '01 told us: Trying to move mountains... most accurately describes the effort required to bring Distance Learning to technical education in Vermont. Over the last few years, I have been working to develop distance learning options for the students of Vermont so that they can participate in technical programs. Throughout the State, students can choose to enroll in programs at any of the regional centers. Each center serves multiple high schools by offering programs that satisfy requirements for employability for that region. With the expansion of telecommuting, and the technology infrastructure here in Vermont, working at home is becoming more feasible for many. The key is then to help prepare our young adults to work in such an environment. Current offerings include computer programming, electronic, audio engineering, travel and tourism, as well as website design. More programs are in the pipeline, as faculty becomes more comfortable with using technology to teach. State policy, training, awareness, and other obstacles need to be addressed. If you are interested in pursuing this effort, please drop me a line. Working together, we can make a difference."

Aziz Bharmal, MBA '04 emailed us: "Received your mail thanks for being in touch with Mumbai campus, INDIA. After my graduation I got a job in a corporate bank, Bank Internasional Indonesia. It's been 4 months and I am doing good with the bank.

Kamini Woochit Fernandez, MSIE '04 wrote to us from Mumbai: "How are things at Marlboro? It's a pleasure to be part of the alumni and giving feedback about our progress since graduation. I have started working now as Technical Support Engineer for an Information Security Consulting Company. I shall be on training for 6 months."

Sara Warner Phillips, ISM '99 told us: "All is well. I'm still working for the company I started with my capstone all those years ago, www.originalhome.com. My company WarnerWebWorks is chugging along. I enjoy working with a number of local clients as well as some national and regional sites. I build from the bottom up and do a fair amount of SEO work too. WWW.HelpEmpowerYouth.com is one of last year's projects. I also built a web site for an orphanage in Tanzania, www.tanzanianchildrensfund.com. I'm going to visit them this summer to do some field work, which is really exciting. So my time at the Graduate Center has brought me to many interesting places and people. Working with web sites and the Internet has been a great career for me."

Jeanne Eicks, ISM '99 recently sent us: "The Web Development and Internet Management AS degree that I chaired at VTC has been transformed -- with the help of a considerable NSF grant -- into the Information Science and Technology program cluster. Currently the new program consists of two associate degrees - one in Information Technology and one in Software Engineering - and two bachelor degrees of the same name. It has been both exciting and exhausting to launch and chair this new program.

On a personal note, Oblio and I are expecting our second child in early June. (Of course she'll have a website upon arrival.) I hope everyone is well.'

Christopher Clauss, MAT '01 sent us this good news: "I don't think I ever wrote in to let the GC know, but I got engaged in January to Bethann Fultz. I proposed at sunset while teaching her to ski at Crotched Mountain, when we got to the top of the chairlift for the first time. There were flowers and champagne waiting, and we got She was totally surprised, and it was all very wonderful and romantic. Our wedding date is set for August 6."

Windows Security

The May Southeastern Vermont Computer Users Group meeting will be held on Monday, May 16, 7:00 p.m., at The Marlboro College Technology Center in Brattleboro, Vermont. After a short business meeting and our usual question and answer session, computer consultant Eric Eklof will give a presentation on Windows Security.

Please note our new location in theTechnology Center: the 2 North classroom on the second floor. Please enter the building using the parking lot entrance.

Viruses, spyware, phishing, and spam. What's a poor internet user to do? If you have a Windows computer, quite a lot these days.

In his talk, Eric will show you how to protect yourself from threats to your computer's integrity and data security. He'll cover:

• Keeping your Windows software up to date
• Protecting your computer from viruses and spyware
• Thwarting those looking to steal your private information

Career Opportunities

(Summer Intern) Network Administrator Assistant
Square One Computer Security Services, Inc. is seeking a summer intern. You will be working in a fast-paced environment with an opportunity to get first-hand experience at the heart of a Web Hosting/ISP and Computer Network Security consulting company. Your learning potential will be limited only by your capacity to digest.

BASIC DUTIES:

• Monitoring the system performance and network security through various system logs and reports
• Maintenance/support of production and development systems, including OS and hardware
• Investigating and installing upgrades and security patches as needed
• Planning and performing back-up and recover procedures for all applications and data.
• Testing and evaluating hardware and software to determine efficient reliability and compatibility with existing systems
• Maintaining software/hardware inventory
• Adding, deleting, and changing user access information as needed.
• Assists with the devising and amending of system and security policies
• Maintains a broad knowledge of state-of-the-art technology, equipment, and/or systems.
• Performs miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned
• Both onsite and remote network security assessments dealing with GLBA, HIPAA and SOX 404 IT
• Some travel may be involved
• Must have valid drivers license and be able to pass background check

Please send your resume or letter of qualifications to the Attn: HR Director mail to: info@square1comsec.com

Square One Computer Security Services, Inc.
36 Chickering Drive
Brattleboro, Vermont, 05301


Web Designer

Vermont.com of Londonderry, Vermont is looking for a web designer who works with ASP. They prefer that the designer work in the office rather than his/her home. Vermont.com is a web portal site, and they need changes and updates done on a regular basis. They are seeking someone who has a "can do" attitude, knowledge of ASP and search engine optimization; works well with others and can get the job done.

Please send resumes and sites that have been worked on to:
Ian Bailes
http://www.vermont.com
802.297.9700