Contributing writer

Actions and suggestions from Advisory Committee members are extremely valuable and can be like a pebble in the water, creating a ripple effect that is unimaginable.

 Two years ago, John Just, Assistant Superintendent of MIS for the Pinellas County School Board, suggested the creation of an internship in the Business Technologies Program. After researching existing criteria and procedures, Dr. Sharon Setterlind, Dean of Business Technologies, began to sculpt a process of creating academic credit internships for the Associate of Science and Associate in Applied Science Business and Computer Technology degrees.

 For students completing these workforce degrees, an academic internship not only allows the students to test classroom theory in the workplace, but more importantly gives students a valuable networking experience that allows them to be competitive in their field of study.

 The first 11 interns were placed in summer 2010. As of spring 2011, 71 students have successfully completed internships for academic credit.

 Evaluations reveal that both businesses and students are finding great benefit in the internships which include, but are not limited to, employment and promotions. The ripple effect is that the College of Computer & Information Technology internship program places SPC in a position to be a primary resource to educate a skilled and diverse workforce in the Tampa Bay area. 

 The pebble?  John Just, a St. Petersburg College Advisory Committee member, is the pebble whose suggestion to create an internship program has shaped the careers of 71 SPC students and met the needs of countless community businesses.

 By the way, the Pinellas County School’s MIS Department hosted three interns since the inception of this program last summer.  One of the interns is now an employee.