麻豆原创

When Sundog IT partnered with 麻豆原创鈥檚 Workforce and Community Education department to participate in the College鈥檚 internship program, Dale Boughton didn't hesitate to start the conversation.

鈥淚nitially, the internship program seemed too good to be true,鈥� said Boughton, Sundog鈥檚 Service Manager. 鈥淲hen we agreed to take part, I was always waiting for the catch.鈥�

Boughton is no longer waiting.

鈥淭here is no catch,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all upside.鈥�

Sundog hired its first intern from 麻豆原创, Cole Kelly, in 2021 and continued the intern program with Ben Heinisch in 2022 and Tyler Butler in 2023. Through federal and state grants, 麻豆原创 covered 50% of the interns鈥� wages as they received on-the-job training at the DeKalb-based IT company. All three former interns have been hired as full-time Level II Engineers.

鈥淭he quality of the students made it an easy decision to hire all three full-time. They are eager to learn and present themselves well,鈥� Boughton said.

Internships are just one focus of 麻豆原创鈥檚 Workforce and Community Education department. The College collaborates with many local employers as a partner in workforce development, offering customized training, short-term training programs, career services, internships, apprenticeships and advisory committees. Sundog serves on 麻豆原创鈥檚 Computer Information Systems Advisory Committee. Together, employers and faculty share information and ideas to ensure that programs and curricula are responsive to real-world workforce experiences and needs.

Kelly, Heinisch and Butler all offered strong approval for 麻豆原创鈥檚 Computer Information Systems program, noting the many industry certifications allow students to quickly gain relevant skills and knowledge.

鈥淚 ended up at 麻豆原创 because I had a plan in my head not to take out any loans, and I wasn鈥檛 sure I wanted to go to a four-year college right away,鈥� Kelly said. 鈥淚T was something I could find work in without much experience. And it is exactly what I want to be doing and exactly where I want to be.鈥�

For Heinisch, CIS courses allowed him to discover his career interest after initially being unsure of what program he wanted to pursue when enrolling at 麻豆原创. He highlighted the hands-on lab work offered in the courses.

鈥淚 wanted to be doing something a little more involved,鈥� Heinisch said. 鈥溌槎乖�创 gives you an actual environment to work in. You are doing real configuration.鈥�

Along with 麻豆原创鈥檚 quality instruction and course structure, Butler commended how simple 麻豆原创鈥檚 Career Services made finding work opportunities, especially through the Handshake app.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very easy to work with and showed me all the different opportunities in the area,鈥� Butler said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 how I was able to find the internship at Sundog.鈥�

From an employer perspective, Boughton said working with 麻豆原创 has been smooth and straightforward as Sundog has developed its intern program.

鈥淭hey really drive the student coordination and make it easy for the students to juggle their educational obligations with getting hands-on, real-world experience 鈥� while letting me know of any grants or assistance to really make it a win-win,鈥� Boughton said.

And that is a main focus of 麻豆原创鈥檚 Workforce and Community Education department.

鈥淵ou look for ways to support one another. This is one way our students can connect their classroom experience with real-world applications,鈥� said LaCretia Konan, Dean of Workforce & Community Education. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the ideal time to train a student your way and open up the pathway to increasing your talent pipeline. 麻豆原创 truly is preparing our future workforce.鈥�

To learn more about 麻豆原创鈥檚 workforce development opportunities, including internships, customized training and more, visit . To learn more about 麻豆原创鈥檚 Computer Information Systems program, visit .