MohaveWire

Seven Computer Information Systems (CIS) students at Mohave Community College gained on-the-job experience during the fall semester assisting area businesses through a new internship program tied to their degree.

The students teamed up with Laron, Kingman Unified School District (KUSD), the Dolan Springs branch of the Mohave County Library System, Canteen Correctional Services, Cornerstone Mission, St. Mary’s Church, and the MCC Computer Learning Center on the Thomas C. Henry Campus - Bullhead City to help with and to learn from working with the organizations’ computer systems.

“The businesses and organizations have benefitted by having the students help with their technical needs, and the students benefitted by gain real-world work experience,” said Matt Butcher, the CIS faculty member on the Henry Campus and the internship instructor this semester. “I am very proud of the work these students have documented for their internships.”

 ”The CIS internship is a course for students completing the CIS degree at MCC,” said Andra Goldberg, MCC’s CIS course coordinator and instructor on the J. Leonard and Grace Neal Campus - Kingman. “This semester we were happy to place seven students out around the county, and we are looking for more in the future.”

Marty Rudolph interned at Laron, an engineering firm headquartered in Kingman. He worked with Laron’s network and database needs along side Matt Hecht, Laron’s information technology administrator.

Randolph was recently hired as Laron’s information technology administrator assistant and helps configure Laron’s server, which controls everything from e-mail to phones to accounting.

“I appreciate Laron for giving me this opportunity,” Rudolph said. “They are a great company to work for.”

Patric Medeiros worked his internship at KUSD under the supervision of Bill Bigelow. Medeiros helped install computers and printers and completed various trouble-shooting tasks at nearly all schools within the district.

“The internship taught me that what you know from books is not always enough,” he said “You learn a lot more on the job than a book can ever explain. We had a problem with a CD-ROM drive at Kingman High School, and by working with the district technician we worked it out quickly together.”

William Fernandez was a CIS student worker, assisting students with technical problems while in the computer lab on the Henry campus.

“There is a need for more students to assist their fellow classmates by volunteering time through the internship and work-study programs,” he said. “These programs benefit not only the student through hands-on experience, but it also leads to job recommendations for future employment. More students should seek what this program offers because it is rewarding to see you had a hand in helping a fellow student achieve his or her goals in education.”

Paulette Chaney completed her internship at the Mohave County Library in Dolan Springs.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the internship,” she said. “I learned so much and appreciated the staff for showing me the library system.”

The other three students who completed their internship were: Danny Gutfeld, who works at Canteen Correctional Services, where he developed a new spreadsheet scheduling system for employees; Linda L’Huillier, now employed with St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Kingman, began her internship by helping the church with its bookkeeping needs; and Linda McElroy completed her internship at Cornerstone Mission by helping the mission input information into a centralized database system that enables them to apply for grants.

For more information about MCC’s CIS internship program, contact Goldberg at 692-3015 in Kingman, Butcher at 758-3926 in Bullhead City/Mohave Valley or Dave White at 855-7812 in Lake Havasu City.