Michael Duquette

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I am current working as an Information Technology (IT) Specialist at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) after graduating in the Spring of 2003. I worked as a student intern while attending SMC and have been with the Federal Government for over 15 years now. USCIS processes applications and petitions for immigration and citizenship benefits, promotes an awareness and understanding of citizenship, and ensures the integrity of the United States immigration system. I work for the Office of Information Technology (OIT) within USCIS where we provide the information technology expertise and the strategic vision necessary to enable USCIS to deliver immigration services and products. My role at USCIS has changed over the last 15 years, as the needs of the agency have changed post-9-11. I began my career with an interest in computers, technology in general, and a technical background thanks to my mathematics degree, that assisted me with analyzing requirements and coming up with creative solutions to the complex challenges that face immigration and Government bureaucracy.

I started out at USCIS providing end-user support, and quickly moved onto managing a server environment and creating websites which I love to this day. Today, my role within the organization has changed drastically. I decided to become a Project Manager and Contracting Officer Representative (COR) overseeing multi-million dollar IT contracts on behalf of USCIS. I primarily manage our Mobility contract that consists of over 6,000 smartphones/tablets and our virtual desktop solution that allows users to remotely access the Network from any of their personal devices. My degree in math is not fully leveraged, but my love of numbers that came from my time at SMC has assisted me with preparing multi-million dollar budgets, reconciling invoices, and performing data analysis in MS Excel/Access. A math degree from a college with SMC’s reputation has opened doors for me within the Federal Government to move around the organization based on what I would like to do next, because they know I am fully capable of handling the challenge.