AITP student chapter represents USI at national conference

Seven students from the University of Southern Indiana's Romain College of Business competed in the 2015 Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP) National Collegiate Conference March 26-29 in Omaha, Nebraska. Fifty-eight schools were represented with more than 500 students in attendance.

Mark Lewellyn, who is pursuing a post-baccalaureate certificate in CIS, received the George Eggert Award for the highest score in the national ICCP certification exam. Seniors Tyler Shemwell, a CIS major, and Bradley Cadden, a computer science major, earned Honorable Mentions in the Business Analytics competition. Students could compete in more than 15 contests that mimic real-world business challenges. The categories included Database Design, Mobile Application Development and JAVA Developer.

A team from USI has participated in AITP's annual conference for more than a decade, earning numerous awards including six first-place wins, four second- and third-place titles, and more than 10 Honorable Mentions.

The conference is sponsored by companies that are leaders in technology, making the event an opportunity for participants to network with leaders in the field of technology, such as International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), State Farm Insurance, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Union Pacific.

The mission of the AITP student chapter is to offer opportunities for information technology leadership and education through partnerships with industry, government, and academia. Tyler Shemwell said, "AITP is unique. It not only provides you with networking opportunities, but through the chapter you can also earn certifications like the Certified Computing Professional (CCP) certification. The opportunities the AITP club provides make a resume stand out."