Allen Fry: Professional Summary (Updated Friday, 6/21/2024)

I started in information technology at Shippensburg University when I chose to major in Management Information Systems: a business major in the John L. Grove College of Business. Courses that covered programming, systems analysis, and database applications were introduced to me, which I achieved ‘A’ and ‘B’ grades in. The textbook approach to learning this field was very informative, but it was my two internships that allowed me to apply the knowledge: one at Capital BlueCross and another at Global Data Consultants, LLC. BlueCross afforded me the opportunity to begin reconstruction on their IT Security website. This is an area of IT I truly love as I later acquired certifications the three main building blocks of web design: HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript. Global Data introduced me to Microsoft SQL Server which served as a repository for cloud gathered data on emerging trends in the technology industry.

My post college career launched in the direction of service, or Helpdesk, technical support at companies like Technisource, (now Randstad), Prelude Services, and Rite Aid. Technisource and Prelude were similar because both were high call volume issues dealing with Citrix, VPN, and Mainframe applications. Rite Aid was centered on Point of Sale (POS) employee systems.

Things got more technical when I began work at Highmark. Here work was more software related and I consider it a Systems Analyst position. I operated a system known at IBM Tivoli Monitoring Composite Application Manager (ITCAM). I used my HTML and IT systems knowledge to run this application and manage it for the company by applying settings and writing scripts. I monitored synthetic data and measured response time and availability working in production and test environments.

Before Highmark, I had my first real hands-on experience working in a desktop support role at the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. Here I did a windows 10 migration for several hundred Dell laptops, and did everything else from wiping hard drives to installing windows updates. I also managed the organization of the data center and worked more complex tasks such as replacing power supplies and swapping fiber.

Working at PHEAA was great experience as well. We used CA IT Client Manager to migrate software for nearly 3,000 computers onto new machines after burning the Windows 10 operating system onto the same machines. We called the three main processes (1) Software Discovery: for the CA Tool, (2) Custom Applications: for the software CA could not catch, and (3) Distribution: actually sending out the new machines to the appropriate locations.

My most recent job was great experience as a field technician for Essintial Enterprise Solutions. Dealing with Rite Aid store firewalls, servers, switches, APCs, and manager PCs entailed most of my time. Gaining knowledge of how to set up NCR systems (registers, servers, etc.) in chain restaurants was part of the job too, where I worked with personnel overseas to sync store computer networks.

I left Essintial when my daughter Rose was born. I decided to become a stay at home dad and was in this role for the past two and a half years. Although rewarding, my wife and I have another child on the way and we decided the best course of action would be for me to go back to work. After much job searching, I finally found my niche at a company that sells industrial parts and services under the name Industrial Service Solutions. I will be working out of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania on a full-time basis in the Service Desk department troubleshooting hardware, software, and networking issues for ISS customers. Please see the employers section of my website for a more in-depth overview of ISS.

To conclude, I would like to point out I aim for excellence in my work and career aspirations. I was a dean’s list student in school with a good GPA, a members of the National Scholars Honors society, and received an Information Systems scholarship. I also did my best to give back to the community by assisting with various causes such as volunteer work with a prison ministry known as PCGG.