John Roland

The internship that I choose was at the South Carolina Department of Education (SDE). Having a position already at SDE allowed me to experience many opportunities as it relates to technology and my internship goals. Most people have internships that only last a semester or two with the possibility of being hired on full or part-time. My internship was different because it involved a special project that related to my job. Although I have six years experience in Information Technology, my internship still challenged me. The internship experience helped me gain new understanding of Emerging Technologies such as Citrix Systems.

Currently I am responsible for providing support for all IT related issues for forty-six remote sites around the state. My supervisor Marshall Casey expects me to provide immediate assistance to any IT related problems no matter where in the state. Because my supervisor expects so much from me, I have learned to manage my time wisely. Since one person can not be in all places at once we have decided to find a solution for remote management. The remote management package that we implemented was Citrix Systems. Citrix allows centralized management, remote management, and a centralized network for all forty-six remote hubs.

The most challenging aspect of my internship was converting the remote sites into a single file server that could serve all the needs of the end-users. The process of transitioning the sites was quick but not without problems. The original file server had two be upgraded to help keep pace with Citrix requirements. Issues with rights, privileges and drive mapping were also a challenge at first. Once all of the tweaking and upgrading was done, we had a very capable system that would also meet our future needs. The experience that I gained from my internship is almost priceless. I have gained an understanding of an Emerging Technology and applied it to my career. My internship experiences will also help me in the future. By exploring solutions to existing problems I was able to use my internship to benefits me academically and professionally. Knowing that you have accomplished a long sought-after goal is very rewarding.