1. Where are you currently interning and what are you doing?
I am currently in my second year as an IT intern with the City of Centerville. My work involves troubleshooting through various technical issues as well as doing a number of project-based work.
Interning for the City has been a very valuable experience for me. Not only have I gained strong troubleshooting skills, but I have had the opportunity to experience working with mission-critical software. The internship has also helped me develop interpersonal and communication skills that are mostly gained through real-world experience.
3. Do you plan on staying in the Dayton region?
Within the next year, I will be moving to the Cincinnati area for school.
4. Tell me a little bit about what you’ve learned throughout the course of the internship.
Throughout my internship, I have gained a lot of experience working with new technologies and business processes. This would not have been possible without SOCHE.
5. Tell me about how SOCHE has helped you find the internship placement (especially during COVID).
SOCHE made finding my internship very simple, I just had to fill out a form with my information and what kind of work I was looking for and they gave me a couple matches that I could easily apply for.
6. Is your internship online or a blend of both and is that working well?
Despite the challenges brought by the pandemic, I have been able to complete my internship in-person.
7. Why do you think it helps to learn on the job?
I think learning on the job is very helpful as it exposes you to many things you would not learn in school. An internship also forces you to try your hand at things that you would otherwise not feel confident enough to do.
8. What have you been able to accomplish so far at your internship?
At my internship, I have been able to accomplish many things. I have had the opportunity to prepare a script for a critical city-wide software install, to develop a full web application for an event with 100+ attendees, and install and configure two-factor authentication for critical software.
The Intern Spotlight Series are interviews conducted with current and past SOCHE Interns, discussing the value of their on-the-job experience at their internship.
If you are interested in hiring an intern, contact Patty Buddelmeyer at patty.buddelmeyer@soche.org or (937) 258-8890.
If you are interested in applying for a SOCHE Internship, go to www.socheintern.org.
