The Data Guardian
Chris Peace (MSIT '25) is learning lessons through the MSIT program that they are able to immediately apply to their system administrator role at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
Chris Peace's official job title is associate system administrator, but their role is much more like a data guardian.
Peace (MSIT '25) protects data at Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine, one of the top research-oriented medical schools in the country. Their role is to make sure the latest research insights from the school's faculty are safeguarded and that those who need access — and only those who need access — can dive into the depths of the data.
Peace turned to Northwestern Engineering's Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) part-time program to help make that managing process easier to accomplish.
Peace came to MSIT with a background in math and finance. They chose the program because of its blend of technical lessons and business education. That blend is already making Peace more effective at their job.
“You can have all the technical knowledge in the world,” Peace said, “but if you aren't able to manage your work or be a good team player, or if you can't use the appropriate lingo to describe what you're doing to non-technical people, then it's very hard to get anywhere.”
Finding immediate benefit from MSIT’s courses keeps Peace highly motivated.
“My technical knowledge has grown, and I’ve gained some different views of how management can be used,” Peace said. “I better understand how my role fits on the team, and I have learned more about my own strengths and weaknesses. There are a lot of things that have already helped.”
Peace said Cyber Forensics for Data Breaches was the most interesting course they took so far because of how it mirrored real-world situations. The course, taught by Jibran Ilyas (MSIT ‘09), managing director at Mandiant (now part of Google Cloud), is designed to help students understand the geopolitical and criminal landscape in which digital forensic experts work.
Each assignment felt like a puzzle, Peace said, and it was up to the students to analyze the puzzle and determine the best end result.
Peace learned valuable business leadership tactics in IT Management Topics and developed stronger technical knowledge in Introduction to Statistics & Data Analysis and Computer Systems: Architecture, Organization & Software.
Peace enjoys being able to participate in the MSIT program’s part-time option while still working at Feinberg. It is incredibly rewarding to immediately apply skills learned in the classroom to their day job, they said
That doesn’t mean adding school on top of a full-time job is easy.
“It has been pretty challenging. It requires a lot of time,” Peace said. “But it's also helped me learn better time management.”
Peace quickly became a strong advocate for the program and recommends it for other IT professionals interested in building their skill set while remaining in the workforce.
“It requires dedication. You will only get out as much as you put into it,” Peace said. “So put in the work, be open to learning, and take in as much as you can while you’re enjoying the experience.”
