San Jose State University Speed Dating Event

The CIO Scholarship Fund invited several guest speakers at the San Jose State University (SJSU) Speed Dating Event. Guest speakers brought in their unique perspective in their respective fields to provide SJSU students with keen insight into specialized areas such as IT infrastructure, data warehousing, and project management. Students were able to ask questions about each field and get a better understanding of potential career paths.

Student's Feedback

I had a great time speaking with the panelists the CIO fund brought out to their "Speed Dating" event.  Everyone was very friendly and happy to answer questions from college students. Thanks for the opportunity.

~Nate McClure

The Speed Dating event was great! Meeting people from different areas of IT gave me a better idea of what I want to do in my future career. I got to ask any questions regarding their experience and knowledge.

~Kelli Lee

San Jose State University LinkedIn Event

The CIO Scholarship Fund sponsored an event that brought in Sandra Clark, a LinkedIn Coach and Trainer, to help students with their LinkedIn profile.

Student's Feedback

Sandra Clark gave an excellent lesson on utilizing LinkedIn as a job searching tool.After taking her advices to improve my LinkedIn profile, I have had a couple job recruiters came directly to me and received 2 job offers within a month.

Thank you CIO Fund for organizing such an amazing event!

~Ray Chong

  

First of all, a BIG thank you for giving us these great opportunities! 

I am one of the lucky students who had a chance to attend the LinkedIn workshop, and this workshop provided me a knowledge that I did not expect. From inserting keywords in the header to switching summary from third person to first person, I did not thought that it would make a difference but VOILÀ! My newly enhanced profile got noticed, and a recruiter contacted me. Once again, thank you for all the effort of providing valuable workshops that can be used as a tool for our success!

~Karlo Pajota

I enjoyed Sandra’s presentation. I had a Linkedin account, but didn’t have much knowledge of what a good profile looked like. She gave me good tips of which areas I needed to improve and how I could be marketable to companies. Also, she had tips of the Linkedin functions that I didn’t know before. Sandra is the best.

~Kelli Lee

Jamshed Vesuna - 2014 Scholarship Recipient, UC Berkley Computer Science

Jamshed Vesuna

2014 CIO Scholarship Recipient

U.C. Berkeley

Major: Computer Science

Graduation: May 2016

I would like to thank the CIO fund for recognizing this field of interest that is growing so quickly. It does make a difference and encourage many to pursue or even just peek into the world of information technology.

The CIO scholarship enabled me to follow my interests in computer science and focus on expanding my knowledge of technology. Attending the CIO dinner event was a unique and empowering experience. Being able to converse with the top CIOs in the Bay Area gave me a key insight into what industry is seeking in our youth and where the future of the information technology field is aimed. It also gave me a chance to communicate to industry about where the future of higher education is focused as well as express my gratitude for the prestigious award. Conversing with the other scholars was a valuable experience as everyone brought a diverse background.

Lindsay Sierra - 2012 Scholarship Recipient, SJSU Management Information Sytems

Lindsay Sierra

2012 Scholarship Recipient

San Jose State University 

Major: Management Information Systems

Graduation: December 2013

In 2012, I was fortunate enough to be a CIO Scholarship Fund recipient. Throughout my college career, I had applied for FAFSA and various scholarships but that year in particular I was denied financial aid.  I remember the look in my mother’s eyes when she told me that we were denied aid. That type of worry is not something that can be hidden, no matter how hard my mother tried.  Any spare time I had between work and school I spent searching for scholarships, as I was dependent solely on private funds.

When I was informed that I had been awarded the CIO Scholarship, sincere gratitude and relief gleamed right through my mother’s eyes.  She could not be more proud of her daughter and more grateful for IT Leaders who gave back like those involved in the fund.

I was so honored to receive this scholarship. The generous endowment really saved me from further financial stress and that is something I will never quite be able to properly say “thank you” for. Beyond the financial aspect of the scholarship, I felt privileged to be recognized by a fund full of IT Leaders. It is an indescribable feeling to be given funds to continue your education from a group of individuals who you hope to be some day. The feeling is best described as a combination of admiration, inspiration, and gratitude.

In addition to the endowment, I got to work with the CIO Scholarship Fund while I was in the SJSU MIS Honors program. My teammates and I worked to implement a Salesforce CRM system and develop an IT Roadmap for the fund. This was also my first time working on an IT project with an external stakeholder and it was a huge learning experience for me.

When I graduated, I was honored to receive the Exemplary Spirit in MIS Award, which was sponsored by the CIO Scholarship Fund. Again, I felt so grateful for the sponsorship and humbled to receive the award. I cannot thank the fund enough for taking a chance on me and investing in my future. The fund stood by me throughout my college career enabling me to become the IT professional I am today. 

Today, I am an SJSU alumna working as an IT Analyst at Cisco Systems. I am also a member of the Young Professional Pillar within the CIO Scholarship Fund and I look forward to positively impacting other students’ lives just as the fund has impacted mine. 

We Support the Ohlone College STEM Program

Ohlone College is one of the schools that the CIO Fund supports. Recently, the Ohlone College STEM Program piloted an embedded tutoring program.

The tutor program hires students that have completed a course to come back and assist students and faculty in the completed class. Students often learn better from their peers, as they are more comfortable and share a similar level of understanding. Data on student success rates and attrition rates were compared to the two years prior to the embedded tutoring program.

Read about the program's success on tricityvoice.com

A Thank You to the Sponsors of the 5th Annual CIO Scholarship Fund Golf Event

The CIO Scholarship Fund would like to express our appreciation and thank you for your sponsorship to our 5^th annual Golf event. Here are some pictures to the memorable event.

The fund has provided over $600,000 in student scholarships and tutoring programs, and we have helped over 300 students to date. It was only through the support from all of our sponsors and volunteers that we reached that tremendous accomplishment.

Through our fund, we are making direct impact to our students lives:

“This is a truly a milestone in my life, and I can never thank you enough.  I am tearing up now just thinking of how much ease you have put on my heart and soul…  I am forever thankful to you, and awe because of the kindness in your heart to grant me such an honorable award.  This scholarship is one of the biggest blessings in my life”  - a scholarship recipient

We are grateful and look forward to your continued support to help us grow the CIO Scholarship Fund. It is, and has always been, the efforts of Sponsors and Volunteers like you that have enabled the CIO Scholarship Fund to raise money for local college students pursuing a course of study in Technology.

Please give us your feedback. Which will help us improve the event in the future.

Thank you again,
CIO Scholarship Fund