Bronco Spotlight: David Mendoza
Bachelor of Business Administration in computer information systems
Technical Solutions Analyst at Cerner
I troubleshoot front-end applications and develop tools in SQL to use for this purpose. My ultimate goal is for incident resolution and application maintenance, but I'm also responsible for knowledge transfer materials across the life cycle of an investigation.
What is the most rewarding and the most challenging part of your job?
The most challenging part of my job is staring at a computer screen for eight hours a day, but the most rewarding part of my job is the feeling that I'm actually making a difference.
What activities, resources, or people helped you prepare for your career?
I had help from a multitude of people over my WMU years. In Schneider: Robert (Bob) helped me with my resume and discussed potential jobs with me, Dr Han also discussed jobs with me and taught me SQL (one of the primary reasons I got hired at Cerner!), KC Chen helped me learn more critical thinking when doing analytics, my coworkers (Andrew, John, Travis, Luke, Taylor, Joseph, Sophia, Grant, and Zach) when I worked IT Support in CAS and my boss Donald Weber helped pay for my education and they gave me advice throughout the year I worked at WMU, Danielle Field and others taught us what having SPURS is all about and gave us a ton of resources for finding jobs (by registering on Handshake, the recruiter for Cerner was able to find me!), Ting Yu taught us Java and how to approach a problem, and through BTN I got a job at Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo and I learned hands-on SQL (making them a barcode inventory management system), and so many more at Haworth helped me through my University life and I'm so thankful for all of them. Volunteering was a big deal for my College life and more (Maple Festival, Mud Run, MakerFaire, WMU Guide, BTN events, PeaceJam!), and my fiancee Emily's positive influence helped me to be more outgoing and to enjoy my time at the University. My parents (Terrie and David) and my sister (Amber) also helped me through it, and I'm fortunate to have had all these activities and resources to help me prepare for my successful career.
What advice do you have for students looking for their career after college?
You're not too late! While it's great to have an internship before you graduate, it's okay to not have had one. Be confident in yourself and your skills. Submit 50 resumes and cover letters to jobs you feel you're not overly qualified for.