Two NDA students spent a week this past summer exploring what the possibilities in IT really are. Alenna Fletcher ’18 and Jackie Noll ’17 both attended INTERalliance Camps to learn first-hand, the vast and exciting career opportunities in technology.
Alenna Fletcher attended Miami University and Jackie Noll spent a week at the University of Cincinnati. Both girls visited local companies and experienced a “Mini-MBA” crash course. This unique camp experience introduced these students to the ways in which technology is applied to real-world business problems.
Both Alenna and Jackie are leaders in technology at NDA . They were the only students from Northern Kentucky to attend this nationally acclaimed camp. Both students work with NDA’s Director of Instructional Technology, Molly Mullee, on Interalliance as members of our NDA SWAT team.
Below is a summary of Alenna Fletcher’s INTERalliance Camp experience:
In January of 2015, it was my freshman year at Notre Dame and I was trying to be involved in as much as I could. I joined SWAT because I was extremely interested in computers and just wanted to know more about them. I got an email from Mrs. Mullee in a SWAT group and though I don’t remember it off hand the only thing I recall reading was “Summer paid internships… P&G, GE, Toyota, Kroger….IT… summer money…come to this meeting.” I was obviously interested. I went to this meeting she told me about and there I discovered I could not be part of the internships that summer because they were mostly opened to juniors
and seniors. Right as I was about to walk out the door the man presenting, Ty Walbrink (who would later teach me how to use excel and how to make my elevator speech) had shared his own experience in INTERalliance. He said that after going to the IT Careers camp he made new relationships and took a lot from it. He mentioned that going to this camp gave him an upper hand of a P&G internship and later, looked great on his college application. I was intrigued and decided to learn more about it. Signing up for the Careers Camp made me feel very independent. Usually I am very dependent on my mother to fill out these things for me but this time it was much different. All the paperwork was sent to me, everything was filled out by me. The only thing my Mom had to do was drive me to Miami University at 6 a.m. Going to the careers camp taught me that I don’t want to be in business, but I do want to be in
technology. And every future job that I aspired to did include technology which is something I never realized. INTERalliance has opened doors for me and everyday I feel like I am discovering a new one. Currently I am part of INTERalliance’s leadership council and hopefully, next summer will be apart of their intern programs.
My elevator speech:
Hello, I am Alenna Fletcher. I’m a sophomore at Notre Dame Academy and I aspire to be a medical professional. I believe I will succeed in this because I enjoy learning about the human body and helping people.
Below is a summary of Jackie Noll’s INTERalliance Camp experience:
Over the summer, I went to the Interalliance Careers Camp at the University of Cincinnati. I take great interest in technology, which is evident in being involved in NDA’s SWAT team. My purpose of going to this camp was to get a better understanding of the Informational Technology business to see if I am interested in the field and if so, what aspects of it. By going to this camp, I not only wanted to see how I was interested in IT, but also to develop skills in IT and business.
The camp consisted of 20 students split into teams of 5 (3 boys and 2 girls) with a head coach who helped them throughout the week. There were also Interalliance interns and adult leaders who led the camp and guided the students. Each team had the name of one of the week’s sponsors: Knowledgeworks, P&G, Fifth-Third Bank, and Kroger. Each work day we would wake up early in the morning and do an internet scavenger hunt to learn about the company we would be visiting that day. Then, we would get on the bus––dressed in our business attire with each team having matching shirts––and ride to one of the four sponsored companies. Throughout the day at the companies, we listened to various people in the IT departments from the heads of the department to Interalliance interns at the companies. The companies also gave us challenges to solve that concern their business. We were also able to talk to people who work at the companies and get some advice from them.
Once we got back to UC, each team would work on the main project of the week called the TOBE project. This was a project that had each team solve a problem in the world with technology. After working for a couple hours, everyone would go back and have a “class” on topics like Microsoft Excel and Internet safety. Then, we would go back to the dorms, eat dinner, have a fun activity like a movie, and then work on our TOBE projects for a couple more hours. Throughout the week, each activity(TOBE project, company mini competitions, and Internet scavenger hunts) had a certain amount of points for the place each team came in. The week was a competition with a week overall winning team and the winning team of the TOBE project. My team ended up winning the overall competition and came in second in the TOBE project. Overall, I loved the camp because it helped me to realize my interests in IT, and I learned more leadership skills, public speaking skills, interview techniques, and what goes on in different companies’ IT departments. With that, I also gained many great friends and mentors while getting a feel of the college and working atmosphere. I hope to continue being involved in the Interalliance program and hope to possibly help run the program as a student, lead future camps, or take advantage of internships that Interalliance offers at many different companies.