When three SPC students accepted internships at MWD Web Design in St. Petersburg, they had no way of knowing they would be working on iPhone, iPod, and iPad apps that would be so successful they would end up in the Apple iTunes App store.
Four students from the SPC’s College of Computer Information Technology accepted the internships. Three of them – Michael Goltz, Rick Williamson and Jasmine Plugher – ended up with work assignments at MWD.
While some interns may find themselves doing relatively mundane work, the three SPC interns soon found themselves working on actual iPhone applications. Their work was so successful that Apple accepted two of their applications for sale and another is pending – no small feat when one considers the relatively small number of iPhone app developers, and the even smaller number of Apps that actually get accepted for sale in the iTunes online App Store.
MWD Partner Patrick Mabarak had high praise for the SPC interns, and said he is looking forward to signing on more of them from the CITT program for the next term.
“They did an outstanding job,” Mabarak said. “They were the first internship group that was able to complete an app – not just one, but actually two – and have both of them approved by the store, which is definitely a very good thing. No other group here at MWD has been able to do that, and that includes our office here as well as our offices in Detroit, Colorado, Indiana, and in China.”
One of the apps, a game for children, is called Grab Your iLetters. It utilizes capitalization, memorization skills and color recognition. The players move letters around the screen and get applause for correct answers. The other, called iShapes, uses three random shapes which must be dropped in similarly-shaped boxes below.
“I think the students were excellent, and presented themselves very well,” Mabarak said. “This project gave them hands-on experience, and they were able to see how a project develops from start to finish.”
One of the interns, Rick Williamson, was offered a full-time job with the company, Mabarak said. All of them received cash bonuses for their work during the internship.
Intern Michael Goltz said the internship experience far exceeded his expectations, and provided him with a great deal of valuable hands-on experience.
“It was very different from what we experienced in class,” Goltz said. “We could actually see what was required, and get experience in what coding you need and don’t need. It was very helpful.”
Goltz is about to graduate from SPC with an associate’s degree in computer web programming and analysis. He plans to earn a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering at the University of South Florida.
Sharon Setterlind, Dean of the College of Computer and Information Technology, said the interns’ experience at MWD Web Design shows that the college is succeeding in sending well-prepared students into the work force.
“This is really an evaluation of our programs,” she said. “When we get such positive feedback from the people who hire our interns,” we know we are on the right track, and that we are actually teaching what is needed – we are sending students out ready for the work world.
“This was the purpose of the program,” she said. “We felt we needed more involvement in the local community, and that is what happened here. Plus, it gives our students an opportunity to see if they really want to be in that field.”
Setterlind said nearly 11 percent of the students sent out from the college as interns have been hired full-time by their employers.