Daniel Kovenat, BBA 2006
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Summer Analyst, Goldman Sachs
Some say that MIS majors are made; others believe that they are born. Daniel Kovenat is a little of
both, getting his first taste of the IT field as a 7-year-old computer consultant. As a child,
his mother’s day camp was upgrading their computer lab to run on an intranet. Since computers were
still uncharted territory to most people, the camp hired a consultant to oversee and help with
hardware and software installation. Daniel watched and took notes, and eventually taught himself how
to handle the technical responsibilities on his own, saving the camp on consultant fees during
future upgrades. He still nostalgically recalls much of the learning software they put on the machines,
like Reader Rabbit, Treasure Mountain, and Math Blaster. Once the technical seed was planted,
Daniel continued to dabble in computers and created his own computer manufacturing company at
the age of 11. As he expanded his technical expertise, Daniel realized that the only college
major that satisfied both his entrepreneurial nature and knack for computers was MIS.
Reflecting on his MIS coursework at UT, Daniel says, "The actual programming language courses are irrelevant. What the MIS program teaches students are the tools to go beyond the classroom." This philosophy landed him a summer internship at Goldman Sachs, where his already strong technical background was humbled. In order to accomplish his projects, Daniel learned PERL, CGI, and other scripting languages. One of the more difficult tasks was to create a self-modifying interface that polled the status of each piece of equipment for Goldman Sachs’ entire network. Essential to this project’s success was Daniel’s ability to combine his previous knowledge of databases and networks with new methods and languages to bring it all together effectively. He attributes his performance and quick learning to the challenging and rewarding MIS curriculum.
From his internship experience, Daniel suggest to students starting out their careers to (1) not expect to be a superstar right after graduation and learn to work from the bottom up, (2) never stop learning after leaving school, and (3) be open minded to suggestions and advice.
Daniel’s most memorable experience of the MIS program was the "notorious K project," where he learned the importance of project management. "Forty percent of group meeting time should be spent planning," he says, and everything goes much smoother. The varying styles of interaction, conflicts in schedules, and individual expectations of each group member make the experience different for everyone. "We burned the midnight oil together and it really pushed everyone to their limits."
After graduation, Daniel is accepting Goldman Sachs’ offer and aspires to become a vice-president within 5 years. He currently runs his own human resource processes consulting firm and a computer consulting company, helping small and medium companies with business and technology services for over eight years. No matter what happens, he hopes to some day retire to a beach, where food and drink are available at the snap of his fingers.
During his time away from work and school, Daniel enjoys spending time on boats, reading cold war and sci-fi novels, playing tennis, and traveling.
