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Christopher Ramezan

A Test Above the Rest

A Test Above the Rest

When it comes to the cybersecurity industry, the CISSP – Certified Information Systems Security Professional – is one of the most sought after certifications individuals can receive. In fact, in Britain, the CISSP certification counts as a masters degree. That is how prestigious it is. 

Within the last two years at Chambers College, we have had three students take this exam and pass it. While it is a valued certificate to have, it is not an easy one to pass. Chris Ramezan, a teaching assistant professor of Management Information Systems and Cybersecurity, said it is not only a personal achievement for those students, but it is also one for our faculty who have helped prep and coach our students through coursework and additional study groups. “It is a very tough exam with very high stakes,” said Ramezan. “Students typically take two years to prepare for it. We wanted to make sure our students had the tools they needed, so we hosted a study group for those who were planning on taking it.” Andy Pritt, a 2020 masters of science in Business Cybersecurity Management graduate said he was grateful that the College helped him prepare for the exam. “Before I took the exam, everything that I had read about it online said that I would feel like I was failing it while I was taking it, and that was definitely true. It was the hardest exam I have ever taken, by a long shot. I honestly couldn’t believe it when the first word on the paper read “Congratulations”, said Pritt. Having students enrolled in our cybersecurity program, and graduating with the knowledge and skills needed to pass the CISSP exam (and others such as, Network+, Security+, Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst+ (CySA+), AWS Cloud certifications and more) is just one of the ways our College is raising the bar for future cybersecurity professionals. 

Get Hyped

How did a global megacompany decide to invest in the Mountain State in developing the transportation of the future? Well, we have the Chambers College, Vantage Ventures and its Executive Director Sarah Biller to thank for helping land Virgin Hyperloop. The company announced it would build a certification center spanning nearly 800 acres in Tucker and Grant counties. When completed, the Virgin Hyperloop system expects to carry passengers in pods through a vacuum tube at speeds breaking 600 mph. Read more about it in an upcoming feature story in 2021 in WVU Magazine. 

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Trending

Twitter is more than rantin’ and ravin’ and snarky memes. It can influence stock returns, according to Alexander Kurov, professor and Fred T. Tattersall research chair in finance. Kurov and Chen Gu, a 2018 graduate of the finance doctoral program, found that firm-level Twitter content has information useful for predicting next-day stock returns, and that it is a stronger predictor of returns for firms with less analyst coverage. Their study, “ Informational role of social media: Evidence from Twitter sentiment,” is published in the Journal of Banking and Finance.

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Need help? Just AeSC!

The Becker Academic Engagement Success Center (AeSC) – named after alumni W. Marston “Marty” and Katherine Becker – supports students through peer-assisted tutoring, mentoring and career coaching, equipping them with real-world professional soft and hard skills so they have a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

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A River Runs Through Wall Street

Chambers College alumnus Michael Shalhoup was recently profiled in Forbes for his work in the field of wealth management. This proud West Virginian and avid fly fisherman has emerged as a prominent figure in the finance industry, overseeing more than $1.7 billion in assets at Merrill Lynch. 

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Something in the Air

A paper coauthored by Economics Professors Brad Humphreys and Jane Ruseski has been chosen by its journal of publication, Sports Economic Review, as its best paper of the year. Their research suggests that cities with professional sports teams bear increased flu mortality rates. Read the paper on Sports Economic Review.

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