Luis Corona

As a student at Stamford’s Academy of Information Technology and Engineering, Norwalk resident Luis Corona had a chance conversation with an administrator that set him on a path to Western Connecticut State University and a career in Management Information Systems (MIS).

“One day while I was in high school, the vice principal asked me what college I was thinking of attending,” Corona said. “I explained that I was deciding among the Connecticut state universities, and he mentioned that his son had attended WCSU. He went on to tell me that his son really enjoyed his time at WCSU, that it was a good school and recommended that I tour the campus. A few weeks later, I toured the school and really liked what I saw. I found the Westside campus to be very modern, and I was impressed by all the majors the university had to offer. It was also a financially sound decision, and I would be able to visit home easily on the weekends.”

Initially enrolled as a psychology major, Corona decided to look at a few other majors in the Ancell School of Business that he found interesting, including management and marketing. “After talking to some friends, they recommended I consider studying Management Information Systems-Information Security Management,” Corona said. “I ultimately decided on MIS because I thought it was a solid combination of two things that I was very passionate about: technology and business. After my first few MIS courses I knew I had made the right decision.”

Corona said that in his opinion, a strong point in WCSU’s MIS program is that many of the professors and adjunct professors have real-world experience and spent time as professionals in the workforce. “I think that the real-world experience that they provide really helps put into perspective how the things you are learning will be applicable to a job after you graduate,” he said. “Dr. Yoon, Dr. Nugent, Dr. Montague and Professor Cunningham all provided great insight into their professional careers, which helped me focus on the areas that I had the most interest in. I believe this helped the MIS program be a great place to nurture my natural curiosity of how things work, and I always felt comfortable asking plenty of questions. One of my best memories was working on my final capstone presentation for Dr. Montague’s course with the rest of my group. It was a tremendous amount of work, and we spent hours in the library and computer labs getting it done. But, working with such a talented group of people was a blast and I’m sure they’ve also gone on to do great things as well.”

As a resident student while at WCSU, Corona was able to fully participate in campus activities.  “I think living on campus was great because it made me more responsible and allowed me to be much more active on campus,” he explained. “I was a member of the MIS Club after a few friends and I got the club running again, and we began hosting events to help students find out more about the major. Since my freshman year, I also worked on campus for the school’s IT department and worked my way up to a position at the university’s service desk, gradually earning more responsibilities.”

According to Corona, “Any incoming students with an interest in technology, business or working with people should consider studying MIS. Specifically, I think some students really like computers, but don’t feel at home in the computer science program, while others may have a strong interest in how a business runs, but want something less broad than the management program. I also think that the professors offer a tremendous amount of value to the program, and you genuinely do graduate having learned a lot, including things that will carry on to your professional career.”

Speaking of his career, Corona was hired right out of college by Datto as a Support Engineer. “Datto is a cybersecurity and data backup company headquartered in my hometown of Norwalk,” he said. “It was an awesome company where I spent the first two years of my professional career, and I learned a lot. However, in the wake of the pandemic I decided to pursue a goal I knew I wanted to complete, getting my master’s degree.” Corona completed a full-time M.B.A. program at a private university on the Connecticut shoreline while working for the City of Norwalk’s IT department.

“After completing my M.B.A., I now work as an Account Manager at a company that develops cutting-edge software solutions for insurance companies,” he said. “My responsibilities include serving as a liaison between our software development team and a portfolio of large clients. A typical workday involves scheduling meetings with managers as well as c-level executives (CEO, COO, etc.) at these companies to discuss the development and implementation of our software. My primary goal is to ensure that our clients are able to implement and utilize our product to improve their workflow and grow their business.”

Reflecting back to the interaction in high school that resulted in his studies at WCSU, Corona said, “That quick conversation put me on the path that it did and my former vice principal might not even know it, which I plan to rectify by reaching out. He actually was one of my teachers before he became vice principal, and he was one of the few teachers who I think genuinely did care about keeping me on the right track.” Not only the right track, but full steam ahead in a rewarding career.

Western Connecticut State University changes lives by providing all students with a high-quality education that fosters their growth as individuals, scholars, professionals and leaders in a global society. Our vision: To be widely recognized as a premier public university with outstanding teachers and scholars who prepare students to contribute to the world in a meaningful way.