IT’s Back – MNAiC Honorees Benefit from Summer 2022 Job Shadow Experiences
Fast forward through COVID disruptions during the summers of 2020-2021 to renewed job shadow connections in 2022 and there is much to celebrate for Minnesota Aspirations in Computing (MNAiC) Honorees and the Minnesota business community. Part day to full day job shadow experiences returned in full force for 29 honorees who expressed interest to visit with technology professionals at one or more of 15 business partner sites.
When asked how the job shadow experience influenced their thinking about their technology education and career plans, some of the high school participants had this to say:
“The job shadow experience changed my perspective. I am more open to exploring many technical career paths and trying new things as a lifelong learner.”
“For sure, the amount I learned about cyber security makes me want to go into one of those fields.”
“It made me more interested in technology and eager to learn more.”
“It definitely broadened my knowledge on the application of computer science, and computer science/engineering in the healthcare field certainly [piqued] my interest in a potential future path.”
Providers offered these perspectives about their engagement with students:
“The students were so lovely and impressive! It was a privilege to provide them with a job shadow experience today.”
“This was great. These students were super engaged, asked relevant questions, and seemed to walk away with a good experience.”
“This was an overall great experience for the company and the students. I hope that we can get more involved with the Aspirations program in the future.”
“Really glad we are able to get students thinking about the work force and having them job shadow. I think this is very valuable and wish I would’ve been able to experience something like this myself during high school.”
The Minnesota State IT Center of Excellence and Aspirations in Computing Program is grateful to teams of people from the following companies for their support and guidance of MNAiC honorees.
Mayo Clinic
Tokyo Electron
Calabrio