It was during a round of job interviews that Amie Seisay began to consider the possibility of starting her own company.
She was having a frustrating time with the job search. Nothing seemed to be the right match. Increasingly, she came to feel that she had not clarified her goals. It didn’t make sense just to interview for the sake of interviewing. Maybe, she decided, it was time to ask herself what exactly she wanted to do.
“I realized that what I like doing the best is development work and building out environments for organizations, through installing and configuring SharePoint. If I had my own company, I could focus on that,” she said.
Fast forward a year and her company, Seisay IT Solutions, is up and running – and attracting clients. The firm specializes in SharePoint farm architecture, branding, development, administration and training for small to medium-sized organizations, and also offers WordPress theme customization services to startups and small businesses looking to build their web presence.
The experience of running her own firm is both exhausting and exhilarating, says Seisay, who describes her life now as “crazy.” In addition to her business venture, she works for a law firm and teaches SharePoint classes for Learning Tree.
Keeping up with it all is no easy task, but then again Seisay has never shied away from tackling challenges. Indeed, one of the main reasons she went into the computer field is because, as a college student, it appealed to her problem-solving side.
“Even though it was often difficult, once I found out how to make my program work, there was the gratification you feel once you get past that hurdle,” Seisay said. “And I still experience that now, with SharePoint, or when developing a web application. I like trying to figure out how to make things work, and when I’m able to do so, I feel great about it.”
Seisay has deepened her professional expertise through numerous IT and Microsoft certifications, including MCTS 70-667 (Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Configuration), in addition to two degrees. She received her bachelor’s in computer science from Trinity University – Washington in 2004. Four years later, she decided to build her academic credentials further by embarking on a master’s degree, also in computer science. Capitol was the school she chose.
“I liked the fact that it’s online,” she said of Capitol’s program. “You don’t have to worry about sitting in traffic and trying to get to a campus -- especially in the DC area, with the ridiculous traffic situation that we have.”
She also found Capitol’s distance learning platform, which offers a synchronous learning environment that replicates many aspects of a traditional classroom, was a good fit for her learning style. Compared to other types of online learning, Capitol’s approach provides more structure for the learner, she said.
“I really enjoyed being able to log in and be in the same session as my fellow students, so we could interact and talk with each other,” Seisay said. “The only difference compared to a regular classroom is that we couldn’t see each other. But you can virtually raise your hand, communicate with each other and ask the professor questions – or the professor might even call on you, which keeps you on your toes!”
“It was a really great experience for me and I always highly recommend to others that they consider taking classes at Capitol,” she said.
A regular presenter at SharePoint-related conferences and events, Seisay will be travelling to Ottawa later this month to speak at SharePoint Saturday managed by SPS Events. In October, she spoke at the SharePoint Engage conference in Raleigh NH and at SharePoint Saturday in Reston, VA. To find out more about Amie Seisay and Seisay IT Solutions, visit her company’s website.