The college has a new internship program, aimed at preparing students for the real-world work experience. SPC’s College-wide Internship Program is a workforce initiative created to partner with the community and provide students with an educational opportunity that cannot be simulated in the classroom.
One company on a growing list of local and national employers participating in the internship program, Managed Web Development Inc., has given several SPC Information Technology students an opportunity to experience their chosen career firsthand. Specializing in web design, MWD has allowed interns who are looking for experience in iPhone application development, website design, HTML and XHTML, an inside look at the working world of IT.
“We’ve had absolutely positive results from about every single intern we’ve took on,” said Patrick Mabarak, co-owner of MWD. “Everything has seemed liked a good fit and we kind of hit the ground running with SPC.”
Mabarak, also a project manager with the company, works directly with interns, providing hands-on experience with seasoned professionals in the IT industry. Overall, Mabarak said he has been pleased with the students’ work and values the partnership his company has developed with the college.
“We have a great relationship with Susan and everyone we’ve worked with over there,” said Mabarak regarding the college’s internship program. “Everyone is doing a great job over there and I think what the college is providing is 100 percent for these students and it’s giving them a lot of market experience,” he continued.
Gone, are the days where interns are assigned the mundane tasks of getting coffee, shredding paper and making copies. Instead, students step into the office skilled and ready to perform.
“I don’t have anybody come around to make coffee and run around with papers and stuff
like that, I make sure they get 100 percent of what they’re paying for the course,” Mabarak said.
Interns who have been placed with MWD, not only received an exciting internship experience, but were taught the essentials of the business.
“It (an internship) also gives students the ability to learn how to start their own company, as we go over various tax things with them.” Mabarak said. “We even recommend tax software and explain what bracket it places them in and how they can market themselves.”
In the ever-evolving field of IT, Mabarak understands the importance of providing interns with a real-world experience and equips them with the knowledge necessary to compete in the market.
“I would say that 90 percent of them got to work on live projects,” Mabarak said.
Two of the more memorable and successful projects completed by SPC interns Michael Goltz, Rick Williamson and Jasmine Plugher, are the iPhone applications “Grab your iLetters” and “Grab your iShapes,” each were accepted by Apple for release in its iTunes apps store.
“This was something that was a good experience because provisioning to get these ready to go live on the app store … is a very difficult procedure,” said Mabarak. “The process is very extensive and one small mistake in provisioning can get an app rejected very quickly,” he continued.
Given the fast-paced and competitive nature of the IT industry, Mabarak said he is very pleased with the interns he has hired as well as their ability to grasp new trends while completing assigned tasks.
“I’m just hoping that every company that is taking interns from SPC, even if it’s not our niche market, we just hope that they’re doing the best for the actual student to prepare them for real-world experience.”