By MORGAN TARPLEY

mlt017@latech.edu

 

Mike Maslowski, senior vice president and chief information officer for CenturyTel, was the College of Administration and Business’ “Professor for a Day.”

“Professor for a Day” is a program that brings distinguished business leaders and entrepreneurs to the CAB to spend the day with students and faculty.

“Professor for a Day’ allows our students the opportunity to interact with successful business leaders and entrepreneurs,” Sandra Richardson, information technology officer for the CAB, said.

“It teaches crucial lessons regarding the business world and career decisions.”

Richardson said, as professor for a day, Maslowski spoke to two undergraduate classes, had lunch at the Ropp Center with CAB faculty and staff and attended a student reception in the CAB foyer during his visit at Tech.

“We chose Maslowski, because he has credentials,” Richardson said. “We wanted him as our chief information officer for our ‘Professor for a Day’ series.”

Dr. Zaiyong Tang, an assistant professor of computer information systems, said he is glad that Maslowski came to speak to his class.

“[Maslowski] has 35 years of experience working for some big companies: Illinois Bell, AT&T, Lucent Technologies and CenturyTel,” Tang said. “He has done a lot in terms of leadership in those companies.”

Maslowski said in his lecture that a large part of being successful is knowing that someone cannot obtain success by themselves.

“You can’t see your own problems,” Maslowski said. “So probably the single most important thing I can tell students today is to work with a mentor.”

Tang agrees that mentoring is very important in success.

“Most successful people had some kind of mentoring,” Tang said. “You really need somebody who can watch you and guide you.”

Jonathan Ford, a senior computer information systems major, said he is concerned with grade point average versus experience when looking for a job in his chosen business career field.

“Experience and people skills should weigh more than a person with the GPA but who can’t even talk to a brick,” Ford said.

“I think experience should be weighed in higher favor [for employers].”

Maslowski said experience is something CenturyTel looks for when interviewing potential employees.

“It is easiest to get good grades and make it through Round One [of interviews],” Maslowski said. “But to get through Round Two, it is better to have experience and [people] skills.”

Leslie Brasseal, a student of Dr. Tang and a senior computer information systems major, said Maslowski gave insight on different attributes needed in the business world.

“I learned that it is important to be skilled in your field, but also it is necessary to convey to an employer that you are a good problem solver and communicator regardless of your knowledge,” Brasseal said.

Maslowski said CenturyTel makes offers to graduating seniors and offers internship opportunities for undergraduate students.

“We’re looking for a few good folks,” Maslowski said. “We want people who are going to be the future of our company.”

Brasseal said she would like to work for CenturyTel one day.

“I have actually taken the first step [and applied],” Brasseal said. “If they pick me for Round Two, I will certainly consider them as an option after graduation.”