Diversity is a good descriptor for the IT Fellows program—people, skills, service, and plans. Now that they are six months into the program, let's take a look at several Fellows to find out how the program is meeting their expectations.

Anna Urish interviewed to be a Fellow before her arrival as a freshman citing the chance to work with faculty and the creative potentials of technology as incentives in applying. Freshmen go through four training rotations of six weeks each the first year. Her favorite project so far was working on a video for Admissions during the video editing rotation. "I'm a nursing major. What I have learned from my rotations will help me with presentations in my field," she notes.

Antoinne McKinney joined the Fellows as a sophomore. Since sophomores don't go through the rotations, he's already in an internship for Human Resources where he is the point person for keeping forms and information updated. With all the changes in the health care plan, this updating is essential, notes Nora Fodness, Director of Human Resource Services. "He's quite willing to tackle anything we give him," she says. Coming up will be his work on the HR website.

Alison Wagner, who became an IT Fellow as a sophomore, says her interest in design and "how things work" attracted her to apply, even though she didn't consider herself an expert in technology. "I have learned completely new things from the Web Services team in terms of technology, but I keep using my communication skills daily," she notes. She sees her web work as helpful post-graduation, though it is a few years away.

Fellows Jay Ray, Jeremy Wilken, and Tom Bricker are program trainers and administrators. Developing soft skills are important as well as technical skills. Companies today are looking for the well-rounded individual who can handle both the technology side and the people side of business. The Fellows Leadership Academy, seminars, and ongoing training insure that the students excel and gain skill sets in both of these areas. Thus, they have a definite advantage over their colleagues upon graduation. Companies like employees who can manage a technical aspect one day and provide a training session to other employees the next.

Jay Ray who has worked at the Help Desk three years is the trainer for the Help Desk rotation. This allows him to hone his teaching skills while he helps newbies navigate the service ticket system and learn customer service skills, as well as gain knowledge about campus technology.

Jeremy Wilken has two roles—trainer in the video rotation and the coordinator for all the rotations. About the skills he is gaining in the video rotation he says, "I came into the program believing that I had to set up a specific curriculum that I would follow to a T. I've learned a great deal about improvising and adjusting the course based on various unexpected situations, one of the hardest aspects of the job. The result of your work is almost directly related to your ability to guide the process."  He comments further on the students' potential, "It's surprising how a group can come from having no practical knowledge about video and use their collective knowledge and skills to produce something with only six weeks of training."

Details about how to be a Fellow are on the IT web site, or Jeni Elkins will be happy to talk with you.