During my time as a tutor for Arianna, I played a significant role in helping her navigate the complex curriculum of the Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIS) program at a popular online university. Throughout our sessions, I ensured that complex topics were broken down into manageable segments, enabling Arianna, who came from a non-IT background, to achieve excellent grades in her coursework.

The program allowed students to pair their coursework with a specific industry focus - in this case, healthcare technology, which is an industry she is interested in and happens to be my career background. We were able to approach assignments with hospital-related scenarios, making the learning experience slightly “hands on”.

As this was my first serious volunteer tutoring engagement, I was unaware of the importance of recording each session's topic, goals, and outcomes, as I have done in more recent efforts. As a result of this lack of data capture, the following summary represents my core tutoring areas and supplemental lecture work over the course of more than 6 months:

• Database Design and Management: Assisted in understanding relational databases, normalization, SQL queries, and database management systems, emphasizing the importance of data integrity and security in healthcare environments.
• System Analysis and Design: Guided the student through the system development lifecycle, requirements gathering, and use case analysis, utilizing hospital systems as practical examples to demonstrate the application of the concepts.
• Network Design and Infrastructure: Provided insights into network architecture, LANs, WANs, and cloud computing, with a focus on designing secure and efficient networks tailored to institutions with modern technology needs.
• Programming and Software Development: Helped the student grasp basic programming concepts in various Java, with an emphasis on best practices and testing.
• Cybersecurity and Ethical Hacking: Offered in-depth knowledge on network security, ethical hacking, penetration testing, and data encryption techniques, particularly in the context of protecting sensitive patient data in healthcare systems.
• IT Project Management: Supported the student in understanding IT project management skills, including project planning, risk management, budgeting, and stakeholder communication, using real-world scenarios to illustrate key concepts.
• Data Management and Analytics: Guided the student in managing databases, analyzing data, and understanding data-driven decision-making processes, with a particular focus on both traditional and cloud-based systems.
• Advanced Networking and Cloud Computing: Explored advanced topics such as cloud networking, load balancing, and VPNs, with a practical approach to implementing these technologies in a modern organizational setting.
• Technical Support and Troubleshooting: Worked with the student in an effort to understand diagnosing and resolving network issues, as well as computer forensic techniques to investigate and respond to cybersecurity incidents.
• Information Security and Compliance: Educated the student on key principles of information security, including the importance of compliance with industry standards like ISO and the role of encryption in securing communications and data within a healthcare network.