As the chief information officer (CIO) of the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA), Arun Manansingh is responsible for the information technology and computers systems for an organization that connects real estate developers, businesses, and communities in more than 300 World Trade Centers in approximately 90 countries. While his current role is all about overseeing technology in our global digital age, Manansingh got his start in a more analog manner. He landed at NYIT after taking drafting classes in high school and pursued an architecture degree.

He recalls the four-year studio-based architectural technology program as exciting and diverse. “The students were from all over New York City and the world,” says Manansingh, who was born in Brooklyn, raised in Westchester and upstate New York, and was the first one in his family to go to college. “All the design teachers were world-class architects,” he adds. “I was able to interact with such a diverse student and faculty population.” says Manansingh. “My professors encouraged me to explore. They were very tough and fair, but they knew the world and how hard it was, and gave us what we needed to survive.”

Manansingh took a drafting job after graduation, but moved on to a firm that sold design microstations during the time when the industry was moving from paper to AutoCAD. The owner of the firm needed someone who could incorporate knowledge of CAD management with computers, servers, and networks. Manansingh began by selling CAD systems to architecture firms in the tristate area, and then he helped design their computer networks. “NYIT gave me the foundation for architectural technology, and it gave me the learning and aptitude to use those skills to transition to other industries and other careers,” he says. He shifted from architecture into tech and never looked back.

Over the years, he has worked in multiple industries in increasingly demanding roles, but he never lost track of his alma mater. NYIT’s global expansion in particular intrigued him. “The school is very global now,” he says. That fact aligns well with WTCA’s mission and drew Manansingh back to campus. He is currently working with Jess Boronico, Ph.D., dean of NYIT School of Management, and John Hyde, executive director of Career Services, to find undergraduate and graduate career opportunities at the WTCA—bringing his own NYIT experience full circle.