Bo Armstrong

I interned at Integral Solutions Group in Spartanburg, SC for three months. It was a wonderful experience and as well as a tremendous learning experience as a network support intern. As a Network Support Intern I had the opportunity to experience many aspects of the IT field from installing network infrastructure to IP telephony and working with customers to troubleshoot issues. I worked a lot with wireless products and software such as Cisco’s Management software. I also worked with Avaya’s IP Office Suite and DuVoice to set up IP phone systems. I comonly used VPN’s to log into customers networks in order to locate and troubleshoot issues.

Classes such as TSTM 345 (Introduction to Networking), TSTM 445 (Advanced Networking), and TSTM 545 (Telecommunications) prepared me well for dealing with networking concepts and all Microsoft Servers. The most interesting work experience I had was helping to set up an IP Telephony LAN for a Law Office. Integral is a partner with Avaya and we used their IP Office and phones to set up the VoIP network for the office. I also got the chance to do some traditional site surveys as well as a predictive site survey which I benefited from having taken TSTM 345. Another class that was extremely useful and relevant was TSTM 564, Project Management. Project Management is the backbone of all the projects Integral undertakes.

My internship at Integral allowed me to work with many aspects of the IT world and helped me to narrow my career goals and future aspirations. My internship helped me launch my career as I am now a full time employee with Integral Solutions Group. I am going to have the opportuniy to do some traveling while installing Avaya phone systems for some of the biggest hotel chains as well as working on many different aspects of network integration. Since I love to travel this is a great opportunity to my young career. None of this would have been possible without the TSTM Internship and the cooperation of Integral Solutions Group. Deciding to be a part of the TSTM Program was without a doubt the best decision I made for my future.