Being the CoursePower Ambassador for Benedict College has been a blessing for me not only to express my interest and excitement in learning and mastering information technology (IT) skills for today’s workforce, but also to be able to share and pass on that interest to other students as well. IT is more than just web design; it is a way of life for everyone, ranging from recent college graduates to senior citizens to senior level officials in the public and private sector. We at Benedict College have a very significant importance to producing the next generation of African American leaders, and by equipping them with the IT skills necessary for today’s workforce, we are able to produce competitive job applicants and future CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and even government officials in public office.
IT can be applied to any field of study and it can also serve as a backup plan to help support you while you are looking and applying for that dream job and career. Take me for instance: I am a political science major. My dream job is to be a federal appeals judge. Taking into account that I will be in school (graduate school and law school) for a while (4 years), a part-time job in IT will allow me to financially support myself while I attend school. After taking courses in web design, internet marketing, business programming, and accounting information systems, I feel very confident about acquiring a job in the IT industry, in both the public and private sectors.
The seriousness of teaching and emphasizing the importance of IT skills is a big challenge that I have as the CoursePower Ambassador. One of my goals is to have the professors in each of the various academic departments on campus (i.e. the School of HASS, the School of Business & Economics, the School of STEM, the School of Education & Social Work, and the School of Continuing Education) stress the importance of learning, acquiring, and mastering IT skills in each of their classes. The implied intent is that by emphasizing its importance from their own academic discipline’s point of view, it will help each student to understand the importance of why IT skills are a necessity in today’s workforce.
Darris M. Thomas