In the NewsFebruary 10, 2009ICAPP (Intellectual Capital Partnership Program): Graduate Returns to Say Thank YouTony Gerena was a part of the first ICAPP project with Columbus State University and TSYS. These are his remarks to the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia on February 10, 2009. Without ICAPP, I probably wouldn't be where I am today. Fifteen years ago, I graduated from Spencer High School in Columbus. I attended Albany State University for a year, and then began working for BW Capps, a feed & seed company in Phenix City, Alabama. One day my girlfriend told me about a friend who was applying for the new ICAPP program at TSYS, and she encouraged me to try, since I loved working with computers. I drove to Columbus to take the test on my lunch break, along with nearly 3,000 other applicants. I didn't think that I had much of a chance, but a few weeks later, I got the call—I was in. I studied at Columbus State from September through December 1998 in a specially designed, expedited program. An ICAPP service cancelable loan helped pay for my costs while I studied. Upon completion, I immediately began working as a mainframe programmer at TSYS. For the next three years, I took advantage of many new opportunities at TSYS in other computer platforms. Today I work with Greenway Medical Technologies in Carrollton, another homegrown Georgia company that was founded in 1998 by Tommy Green. I feel that I have contributed to the success of Greenway Medical Technologies since I joined the company in 2001 by using what I learned at Columbus State and TSYS. For the last eight years I've seen this small company grow from having no clients and no product to sell…to over 200 employees and almost 1,000 clients. Today, I am the Director of Clinical and Interoperability Development for PrimeSuite, Greenway's integrated electronic health record solution for more than 22,000 healthcare providers across the nation, with more than 4 million patient charts in 48 states. Greenway is currently partnering with the pharma industry and the FDA to improve the quality and efficiency of clinical trials. This is a very exciting initiative and I'm proud to be part of the team responsible for making it happen. The education I received through ICAPP gave me the chance to contribute to this Georgia company's success, and to be successful in my career. And the girlfriend who told me about ICAPP is now my wife, Lameza Gerena. We live in Villa Rica with our three children. Thank you, ICAPP, TSYS, Columbus State, the Board of Regents, and the State of Georgia. Tony Gerena |
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