By OU-C public relations student employee Jasmine Garcia
Eleven current OTEC students at OU-C are gaining valuable practical experience through internships to help them pursue careers and gain essential job skills.
Office Technology (OTEC), an Associate of Applied Business degree program on campus, teaches students administrative professional skills for careers in a variety of service or manufacturing business settings including desktop publishing, reception, payroll accounting, business analysis, medical and legal administrative assisting, and office supervision.
In addition to the course work needed to earn this degree, OTEC students are required to complete a 75 to 80 hour internship. During these internships, students get experience working in environments in their chosen career fields, while developing on-the-job skills outside of the classroom.
?I feel like the majority of jobs use computers, and Microsoft Office is used almost everywhere. So knowing how to do those helps a lot,? said Jessie Lambermont, an OTEC student. Lambermont interned at the Adena Regional Medical Center in the accounting office, where she was able to get hands-on experience working with financial spreadsheets and business office transactions.
?I learned a lot about human resources,? said Courtney Clever, an OTEC student, who interned in the Human Resources department at the Chillicothe Correctional Institute. ?I just thought it was a really good experience to get to see before I go into the workforce.?
The skills these students have received by completing an internship are something that will make them stand out to employers when entering the workforce.
Allison White, assistant professor and program coordinator for OTEC, said that the internships give students a strong addition in the employment section of their resumes by showing they have experience in their chosen career field.? This, in conjunction with an Ohio University degree and a variety of certifications earned along the way will make them strong contenders. She added that students receive an evaluation letter from their internship site supervisors upon completion of their hours, and many times these evaluations come in the form of a letter of recommendation.
White also added the importance of the connections formed during these internships that help students who are just starting their careers develop strong networks.
?It is certainly my hope and theirs that by introducing themselves to the community they are building a network, and it gives them the chance if they have had no job experience at all or perhaps no experience in the business field to get something on their resumes that says I?ve done this, I?ve built this skill,? said White.
Clever will be graduating in the spring and has started to look back to her internship and her internship supervisor, Bonnie Hall, as a resource.
?I really would like to get a full-time job at CCI,? said Clever. ?I?ve been talking to Bonnie and learning all the different things she does.? I would like to do something along the lines of what she did; she has inspired me to see all the different kinds of tasks they have to do daily, the multitasking and everything.?? I thought her job just seemed really interesting.
Many students who complete internships set their goals higher and plan on building upon their associate degrees and also pursuing their bachelor?s degrees.
Lambermont plans to attend Franklin University and earn her bachelor?s online with an emphasis on forensic accounting.
?I?m hoping to take my education further and obtain my bachelor?s degree in business management,? said Angie Conkel, an OTEC student who interned with the Ross County American Red Cross. ?My husband and I have discussed several times opening up a small restaurant, a ?mom and pop? type of business.??
With the amount of success these students have achieved during their internships, they hope to inspire other students who wish to continue down a similar education path.
?I think that [the internship] helps you in every way possible, and it opens you up to a lot of different opportunities,? said Clever.
While the program can be challenging, students feel that the hard work pays off in the end.
??I wouldn?t say it is simple because there are hard things about it, but you can pretty much do anything customer service wise, rep wise, be an administrative assistant or secretary. There is so much you can do with this degree and there is so much you can learn,? said Lambermont.
OTEC students serving internships this semester and their internship sites include:?
- Courtney Clever - CCI Human Resources
- Angela Conkel - American Red Cross Ross County
- Chris Anderson - WKKJ Clear Channel
- Cynthia Gillenwater - OUC Athletic Department
- Chrystal Dixon - Adena Dermatology
- Sharon Ward - Adena Billing and Coding
- Jessica Lambermont - Adena Finance and Accounting
- Holly Love - Gadson Law Office
- Michael Wachovec - Ross County OFA Campaign
- Heather Speakman - Westmoreland Place
- Cherice Brown - Westmoreland Place
Source: http://www.oucnewsblog.com/2012/09/otec-internships-provide-practical.html
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