Five TU students earn $25,000 in scholarships from Mid-Atlantic CIO Forum

The Mid-Atlantic CIO Forum awarded Towson University students Sydney Dinetz, Zachary Sierakowski, Hammad Imran, Sara Bittner and Jarrett Booz a total of $25,000 in scholarships for the spring 2016 academic term. 

Bittner is a sophomore computer science major and mathematics minor who enjoys programming. She has taken classes in Java and C++ and plans to take a course on the next level of Java. Bittner believes that her minor in mathematics will aid her in programming since both rely on logic and systematic approaches to solve problems.

Booz is a computer science major with a cybersecurity track. The sophomore would like to eventually work at a cyber security operations center, which would allow him to gain experience in hacking and defending networks. He would ultimately like to manage projects related to cyber security. Booz also has plans to pursue a master’s degree in the computer science/cybersecurity field.

Dinetz is a second-time recipient of the scholarship and carries a combined major of e-business and business administration with a concentration in marketing, as well as a minor in Jewish studies. The senior is interested pursuing a career in digital marketing, and currently works as a marketing and communications intern at Textron Systems where she assists in the creation and planning of their social media strategy.

Imran is a junior information technology major with interests in cybersecurity. He currently works for Towson University in the networking and cybersecurity departments where he has gained experience in setting up, maintaining and troubleshooting networks, and monitoring network traffic for malicious activity. He would like to work as a network specialist for the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the National Security Agency and ultimately become a chief information security officer.

Sierakowski is a senior computer science major with a track in software engineering. He currently works as a software engineering intern at Sabre Engineering and has a strong interest in problem-solving and coding. He taught himself iOS programming to implement small individual projects. His future goals include pursuing a master’s degree and becoming a lead software engineer and running his own company.

Bittner, Booz, Imran and Sierakowski are all students of Fisher College of Science and Mathematics. Dinetz is a College of Business and Economics student. Booz and Dinetz are also both members of the Honors College.

“The Towson University student applicants for the Mid-Atlantic CIO Forum Scholarship not only show academic achievement, but show the initiative to be the next group of IT leadership,” said Tom Lonegro, CIO Forum member who served on the scholarship selection committee. “Again this year we had an excellent group of candidates. It was very difficult to select a top five.”

In addition to providing scholarships, the CIO Forum’s members look forward to being actively engaged with the students. The award recipients will have the opportunity to participate in Mid-Atlantic CIO Forum meetings during the spring term.

“The Mid-Atlantic CIO Forum has been generously awarding scholarships to our students since the spring of 2006. It is heartening to think about the rich opportunities this partnership has

provided to our students. Their ongoing generosity is deeply appreciated,” said Dr. Maggie Reitz, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

The Mid-Atlantic CIO Forum was formed in August 2003, when Towson University’s Division of Innovation and Applied Research entered into a partnership with information technology executives in the mid-Atlantic region. Its mission is to foster excellence in business and information technology in an environment that promotes educational and networking opportunities for CIOs facing similar challenges and issues. The forum has offered scholarship awards to students of business, economics and the computer information sciences since spring 2006 .