Spring 2001

Volume 3 Number 2
A publication of Macon State College

Learning Beyond The Classroom

MSC Students Experience The World of Work Through Internships

By Renee Pearman

Esther Suarez, a Macon State College junior working toward a bachelor's degree in business, admits she could not have picked a better time than spring to do her accounting internship.

Yes, it's hectic at the firm of James F. Leach CPA during income tax season, but the work experience is invaluable, and, Suarez said, that's what an internship is all about.

"This opportunity is wonderful. I'm getting real business experience in conjunction with classroom lecture, and I'm getting used to the hectic pace in this type work environment," said Suarez, who received an associate's degree in business from Macon State in 1997, then decided to continue working on a bachelor's degree in business & information technology. "I think the experience that comes from an internship helps you hone your skills."

Communications major Kelly Jones, shown with Macon Magazine publisher James Palmer, is interning at the magazine.

James Martin, like Suarez, is enrolled in a three-credit hour elective internship course for those majoring in accounting. Under the supervision of the Business Administration Division faculty, students select companies or organizations in the public or private sector where they would like to complete 40-hour per week internships for an entire semester. Similar courses are offered to management and marketing majors, respectively.

Martin, who is interning at Howard, Moore & McDuffie CPA firm, said he has averaged 50 hours per week during March and April, but he's not complaining. "Interning gives you a realistic idea of what you are actually studying," he said. "After all, not all learning takes place in the classroom."

No truer words were spoken, said Foster Goff, an associate professor in Macon State's Division of Business Administration. While accounting principles, financial procedures, managerial concepts and inventory methodology are part of classroom instruction, internships allow students to get actual experience in a business environment.

"Interning gives our students a glimpse into the real world," Goff said, "and just as important, it gives employers a glimpse of our students. In addition, students can start making choices about what career path they want to follow. Internships give them a chance to feel out what their niche is without having to make a job change later."

Goff cites an example of a business student who completed an internship with an auditing firm only to conclude that accounting was not for him. He elected to study another branch of business.

Developing Leadership Skills

On the other hand, Kelly Jones' internship with Macon Magazine has convinced her that she is following the right career path.
A new media major in the four-year communications & information technology (CIT) program, the 23-year-old Jones spends her afternoons designing ads and laying out pages. She also occasionally sells ads for Macon Magazine publishers James and Jodi Palmer, and her book reviews have appeared in several issues.

"There is no way you can tell about a job in a classroom," Jones said. "An internship lets you see if that is what you really want to do. You take what you learn in class that morning and apply it in an actual work setting that afternoon. For me, that's one of the best ways to learn."

Jones first enrolled at Macon State in 1996 after graduating from Tattnall Square Academy in Macon, but personal obligations interrupted her studies. "I didn't think I was going to be able to get back to school, then my favorite professor, Dr. Gwen Sell, told me about the new four-year communcations program, and that brought me back," said Jones, who will complete her bachelor's degree later this year.

This spring she is taking six classes and balancing two internships, one at Macon Magazine and the other with the Matrix, Macon State's student newspaper. She and Chris Hood, who also is a CIT major, are co-editors. Both said the experience has helped them develop stronger leadership skills.

"This is my second year working on the Matrix," Hood said. "I've learned a lot in that time. I think this experience has helped me to better develop my leadership ability and organizational skills. And, besides improving my writing and editing, I've learned how to work with different personalities, I've learned how to set and meet deadlines, and I've learned a lot about budgeting."

The communications internships are elective courses, said Dr. Robert Kelly, chair of the Division of Humanities.

"We encourage our students to take advantage of these opportunities to practice what they've learned in the CIT program ÐÐ the written, verbal and technological skills ÐÐ and apply them in a practical setting," Kelly said. "I think this experience shows our students that their academic training is useful and valuable, and it shows the employers that our students do have the practical know-how to do the job."

Students are expected to work about 10 hours a week on their internship, according to Kelly. They keep a "log" of the time they put in and the kinds of activities they perform in a journal that is a required course assignment. "They write about the problems they encounter, their solutions to those problems, their accomplishments and their frustrations," he said.

Additionally, in consultation with their instructor, students compile a portfolio that is reviewed at the end of the course. This portfolio, Kelly said, is especially useful to the student and any prospective employer who wishes to see tangible evidence of the kind of skills that CIT students possess.

Renee Martinez's journal chronicles her experience as editor of the student literary magazine, Fall Line Review, from her review of submissions to design ideas to editorial decisions.

"My internship has given me the opportunity to get involved with the publishing of a magazine from start to finish, something I may be asked to do in my future career," said Martinez, who earned an associate's degree in journalism at Macon State in 1999. She will graduate with a bachelor's degree in communications & information technology in May.

Martinez actually started her journalism career at Northside High School in Warner Robins during her senior year when she was co-editor of the student newspaper and a member of the yearbook staff. When she arrived at Macon State College in 1997, she began writing for the student newspaper and later served as its feature editor, copy editor and layout editor. This is her second year as managing editor of Fall Line Review.

Not only is Martinez a full-time student, she also is a full-time journalist. After covering the education beat for two years at The Daily Sun, she now is a page designer and special assignment reporter for the Warner Robins-based newspaper. She started there in 1996 as a part-time typist in the newsroom. While she already has earned her stripes as a newspaper journalist, she credits her communications internship with preparing her for another area of print media ÐÐ magazine writing, editing and designing.

For the Fall Line Review, "with the help of Traci Burns, who's serving as my associate editor, I've had to choose the selections to be published, edit them, choose a printing company, design the look of the magazine as well as do the layout, arrange the cover art and keep our finances straight in the meantime," Martinez said. "I've learned that the process is much more extensive and intensive than I had anticipated it being. Regardless, I've enjoyed it and I've learned that it's a task not beyond my capabilities."

Health Program Internships

While the CIT internships are electives, those for health services administration and health information management are required for graduation.

Currently, juniors and seniors in the four-year Health Services Administration program are completing internships at the Medical Center of Central Georgia, the Medical Center's Neighborhood Health Clinic, the Houston Healthcare Complex in Warner Robins, the Perry Hospital, the Fort Valley Hospital, Healthcare Business Solutions, Robins Air Force Base Medical Center and area nursing homes, according to Bill Hervey, assistant professor of health services administration.

All students must complete a health services administration internship in a health care setting as part of the requirements for completion of the degree, said Dr. David Berry, who described the health services administration internship as a structured experience that is faculty arranged and faculty supervised.

Steven Wilson, right, is an IT intern in the Houston County District Attorney's office in Perry. Here he talks with chief assistant D.A. Katie Lumsden and chief investigator Tommy Wright.

"This is a mainstream part of our academic program that is evaluated by our accrediting agency, the Association of University Programs in Health Care Administration," said Berry, director of Macon State's health services administration program. "These are academic experiences for which the student earns credit."

LaTrina Harvey will earn six hours of credit during spring and summer terms working as a health services administration intern in the Houston Healthcare Complex's human resources department. The Houston Healthcare Complex, which employs more than 1,400 people, is comprised of the Houston Medical Center in Warner Robins, where the human resources department is based, the Perry Hospital, two Med-Stops and several other medical facilities in Houston County.

"This opportunity has been absolutely wonderful," said Harvey, a 1995 graduate of Crawford County Comprehensive High School.
Her key responsibility as an intern in the HR department is to help coordinate the installation of new software that will manage all human resources functions, from insurance and benefits to recruiting and training. She meets with HR staff members to learn what they do and what their software needs are, then she serves as a liaison between the HR department and the company installing the software to make sure the staff's needs are met.

"My internship has given me an opportunity to gain work experience in a field I'm interested in while at the same time earning college credit," Harvey said. "It lets me see what I like and what I don't like about a career I'm interested in, and, so far, I think I'm on the right track."

Dena Hudgins, director of human resources at the Houston Healthcare Complex, called the internship a win-win situation. "This has proven to be a very positive experience for us and a very positive experience for the students," said Hudgins, who worked closely with Macon State's health services administration faculty to arrange internships at the Houston Healthcare Complex. "I think this is a great experience for students trying to decide on a career, plus it gives us a chance to see the student's skill level and communication style."

To complete their internships, students working toward a bachelor's degree in health information management must spend a total of 160 hours off campus at an internship arranged by faculty.

"All health information management students must take (the internship course) plus two clinicals in order to graduate," said Charlotte McCuen, clinical coordinator for the health information management and health information technology programs at Macon State College. "These internships are important because students get to see how it's done, witness the process of decision making and really apply everything they've learned."

This spring, Andrea Johnson-Mignott is spending 40 hours per week interning at the Henry Medical Center in McDonough. "I've learned so much," she reported to McCuen.

Like Myriam Johnson, who is interning at Macon Northside Hospital, and Charmica Kelly, an HIMA intern at the Carl Vinson Veterans Administration Medical Center in Dublin, Johnson-Mignott must give an oral presentation on her experience and keep a journal that includes her interviews with health information management personnel at the medical facility where she is interning.

"We are taking what we learn in the classroom and applying it to job situations. It gives us a better feel of what it's like to work in the real world, the world outside the classroom," said Kelly, whose responsibilities at the VA Hospital include working on an evaluation of the hospital's computerized patient records and helping set up policies and procedures for scanning all paper records.

"An internship helps students realize how they must draw on everything they've learned in order to come up with a solution to a problem," said Nanette Sayles, director of Macon State's HIMA program. "It also re-enforces what they've learned, which helps them prepare for their national registration exam."

Networking

Richard Malone is administrative coordinator for IT internships in Macon State College's School of Information Technology, and ???? serve as IT technical coordinators, working closely with the 130 students interning during part of the 2000-2001 academic year.

Internships are required for all IT majors who have completed junior-level courses. Malone helps them find an internship in the track in which they are majoring: computer programming, database administration, networking & communication systems, multimedia & web technology, systems analysis and educational technology.

Amoung the Central Georgia businesses working with Macon State's IT interns include IKON Office Solutions, Georgia Farm Bureau, ComputerLogic Inc., the Medical Center of Central Georgia, Blue Bird Body Corporation, Lucent Technologies, The Macon Telegraph, Georgia Forestry Commission, Crawford County Elementary School, Adroit Systems Inc. and Oglethrope Dental Center.

"Our IT students are required to complete 225 intern hours in a 15-week semester. Most average about 15 hours per week," Malone said. "About half end up staying on with the company after their internship is finished."

Kim Paulk, who is following the educational technology track, likes her internship location, Macon State College's Office of Technology Support Services where she is a multimedia accessibility consultant developing "help" instruction menus for the campus computers.

"An internship gives you a leg-up on job opportunities and provides opportunity for networking with others," said Paulk, a full-time evening student who spends about 20 hours per week in Technology Support Services. "I'm learning to write HTML code and making web materials accessible for the handicap."

When she completes her bachelor's degree in IT next year, Paulk, who is visually and hearing impaired, wants to find employment in technology services at a college or large company. "I want to help my employer make its online and physical learning/work environments accessible to those with disabilities," she said.

Larry Hammond's IT internship also is at the college, in the Office of Student Life where he updates and maintains web pages and is helping create a database for tracking student activities funds.

"I think that the practical job knowledge gained by students doing internships will help them move into the job market," Hammond said.

A native of Wilmington, Del., Hammond enrolled at Macon State in 1999 not long after retiring from the U.S. Air Force after 22 years of service. He is president of the MSC Black Student Unification/Minority Advising and Achievement Program and vice president of the Student Government Association. A full-time student, he will graduate in December with a bachelor's degree in IT.

"I think internships are especially important for younger students because it gives them a chance to learn how the business world really works and how to deal with people in a professional environment. They learn how to get along with all types of co-workers, how to approach a supervisor, how to deal with difficult customers," Hammond continued. "Plus, they develop social skills, communication skills and leadership skills, which they may not always learn in a classroom."

Kim Holder, a 1995 graduate of Northside High School in Warner Robins, is a multimedia major interning at WCOP/WAFI, Christian radio stations in Houston County.

"I've been building web pages for the stations," said the 23-year-old. "My internship has given me the chance to work with an actual company. By being here at the stations, I'm learning about their image and culture, which helps me to determine how to meet their needs."

Hands-On Experience

LaTrina Harvey, right, a health services administration major, discusses a project with Dena Hudgins, director of the Houston Healthcare Complex's human resources office, where Harvey is interning.

Jennifer Bertolino, another multimedia major, is doing her internship from home, which is the experience she was seeking. She is designing web pages for Jonathan Metal Werkz in Alhambre, Calif. The company is owned by her brother who creates art pieces from metal.

"This internship really works for me because my goal is to work from my home," said the Crawford County resident. "I'm learning self-discipline, organization, responsibility and how to market myself."

At age 56, Stephen Wilson finds himself doing an IT internship with the Houston County District Attorney's Office, located in Perry.
"This is a 'career change' for me," said Wilson, who lives in Warner Robins. "I decided to study information technology because of my personal interest in computers and because of the publicized shortage of trained professionals in this field."

Wilson has re-designed the Houston County D.A.'s website, installed new computer software, configured the DSL modem, assisted with network administration and "helped with trouble shooting small daily problems with individual computers."

IT senior Julia Owens, who graduates in December, already has completed 125 hours interning with the Georgia Forestry Commission, and now she is creating a website for a local chapter of the Toastmasters' Club.

At the Forestry Commission, she "cleaned up" HTML coding on the Forestry web pages, redesigned several pages and learned about client-server sites/pages. For the Toastmasters, she is designing a functional website that is appealing, easy to navigate and offers limited database functions.

"With both of my internships, I have received direct hands-on experience in web page design," Owens said. "My immediate supervisor at the Georgia Forestry Commission, Ron Bixbe, showed me how the need arose for a particular database, the information that had to be collected in order to create the database, how the DB would be maintained and updated, how the DB would be accessed by the foresters through the website and how the information would be collected. I knew the basics of what he was telling me, but there was so much that I did not understand, which was exactly what the internship was all about ÐÐ take what you know and grow with it.

"There is no doubt in my mind that my internships have enhanced my class studies. It is great to be able to take the classroom to the 'real world,' which is also a learning environment. To be able to take my classroom studies to a business and apply them and come back to class asking questions has enriched my learning experience."

This fall, Macon State College introduces its newest baccalaureate degree, public service, with a major in human services, which is targeted toward students with career interests in the "helping professions" associated with public or private agencies. Like the four-year programs in business, communications, health information management, health services administration and information technology, public service includes an internship component.