Information technology intern Amelia Coyne has spent her summer at Prairie State supporting users, providing operating assistance, and learning about different areas of IT.
Coyne has been involved with the help desk to assist employees with technological problems. She has also learned about network infrastructure, servers, and the importance of redundant systems.
Her thoughts on the field of IT have changed since she began this internship. “I thought that IT would be more straightforward. The truth is, every project will have a different problem, and you’ll need to consider all of your resources to solve it.” She also mentioned that you must be prepared to solve these problems by expecting things to not occur as planned.
Coyne’s favorite part of this internship has been to interact with users at different levels of technological knowledge. Some problems will be very easy to solve by a system reboot, while others will take more time and effort.
Her biggest takeaway from this internship has been that relationships with those who need assistance are important. “You need to be sure that the users trust you. If they are comfortable with calling you for help, issues can be solved more quickly.”
Coyne has been successful in assisting employees with the email system migration that occurred at Prairie State. She has also finished taking apart a laptop and is in the process of putting it back together.
After completing her degree, Coyne will look for a career in the IT field that best suits her.