Texas State ITSA Triumphs at USITCC National Conference

Students win four awards, ITSA awarded 2023 Premier IT Student Organization

By Valerie Figueroa
^{Staff Writer, McCoy College of Business}

SHREVEPORT, La. — Students from Texas State University's McCoy College of Business and the College of Health Professions won awards in four of eight competition events at the U.S. Information Technology Collegiate Conference (USITCC), April 4-6.

In the Application Development category, Texas State's Nicholas Robertson and Jake Nobles secured first place. Jake Nobles also earned second place in Security, while Kyle Britton and Jake Nobles placed third in Database Design. Marcus Block received an Honorable Mention in Security.

In addition, the Foundation for Information Technology Education awarded the Texas State Information Technology Students of America (ITSA) student organization the distinction of 2023 Premier IT Student Organization, highlighting their commitment to fostering a strong IT student community on campus.

Kevin Jetton, ITSA faculty advisor and senior lecturer in the Department of Information Systems and Analytics (ISA), said students’ involvement in events like the USITCC provides students with valuable networking opportunities and practical experience that can give them a competitive edge in the job market.

“Going to national competition events, leading special projects, taking action, showing leadership and working as a team,” Jetton said. “All those things are all the attributes that every employer is looking for.

The three-day conference, held in Shreveport, Louisiana, brought together over 200 students, faculty, and industry professionals from 20 different universities for IT competitions and learning experiences. 20 Texas State students majoring in Information Systems & Analytics and Healthcare Administration competed at the conference.

“They [students] have a tighter bond to the department, to the student organization, to McCoy College and to the university,” Jetton said. “It goes into their little memory bank of awesome events, activities and places they got to see and experience.”

Jetton served as the USITCC conference event planner and a judge for the Microsoft Office contest. Additional Texas State ISA faculty and staff who assisted with the conference included Brad Hamman, who contributed by creating the problem statement for the USITCC Office contest and also served as a judge; Dr. Garry White provided mentorship to the USITCC Network Design and Security Contest team; and Trevi Kelley assisted with the USITCC Office contest as both a judge and organizer. ✯

For more information about this story or other news, email Twister Marquiss, manager of marketing and communications for the McCoy College of Business, at twister@txstate.edu.

About the McCoy College of Business
Established in 1970, Texas State’s business school officially became the McCoy College of Business in 2004 following a transformational gift of $20 million by Emmett and Miriam McCoy. The college, which offers classes in both San Marcos and Round Rock, is accredited by AACSB in both business and accounting, and has graduated more than 44,000 alumni.