KEITH JACOBSEN- MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS
information systems Grad plies Training in Real Estate

Keith Jacobsen had options. He could have been a programmer, a systems analyst, a network administrator, an information systems manager or another type of IT professional. But Jacobsen always liked doing his own thing. In high school he ran his own business, making house calls to repair computers for $60-an-hour. So when Jacobsen graduated with Southeastern’s first Management Information Systems degree in 2004, he decided to use his training to do his own thing: computer-assisted real estate investing.

For a senior-year project, Jacobsen downloaded up-to-date information on single-family homes and vacant lots in Vero Beach, Florida—where he’s from—to make a searchable database of potential investments. Jacobsen’s idea was to contact land owners who didn’t live in Vero Beach who wanted to sell the property. The database, which contained information from online county land records, enabled Jacobsen to quickly identify possible sellers and set reasonable resale prices. Jacobsen and his father already have bought one lot they hope to resell for an $8,000 profit.

Before Jacobsen started his entrepreneurial career, Southeastern revived his interest in computer technology. In high school, Jacobsen had worked in a computer repair shop and later moved to a marketing firm for which he developed Web sites. He also started Computer House Calls, a computer repair service. Jacobsen said he transferred from Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Florida to Southeastern in the fall of 2003 because it was more affordable and enabled him to major in business and minor in computers. Within the year, Southeastern began offering its MIS major. Wendell Harris, a former associate professor of Management Information Systems at Southeastern, observed that Jacobsen had a knack for computer technology and convinced him to major in MIS.

Jacobsen said the most valuable computer course he took at Southeastern was Information Resource Management, which teaches managers how to run an information technology department. That course, taught by Harris, sparked anew Jacobsen’s interest in computer technology. Another class, Database Management Systems, taught Jacobsen how to develop databases such as one he created to help him and his father invest in property. Harris told Jacobsen that Jacobsen's facility in database management also could enable him to work as a database manager for a corporation.

Jacobsen, who graduated from Southeastern with a business management degree along with his MIS degree, anticipated using his Christian faith in real estate investing. He wanted to offer owners fair prices instead of trying to take advantage of people who are desperate to sell because of dire circumstances. If he ever tries to pursue a more traditional career track with his MIS degree, Jacobsen hopes his behavior in that occupation too will honor Christ. Whether he remains a computer-savvy land investor or becomes a database manager, Jacobsen appreciates how Southeastern showed him that he could merge his love of Christ, business and computers into a career.