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Communication

June 8th, 2012 | Posted by Dakota in IT-oLogy Defined | Teach IT - (0 Comments)

Communication.

A simple enough word that in recent years with the advancement of technology has come to mean even more than previously thought. It used to be that effective communication was the way in which you spoke to a person. Now with email, text messaging, IM, Skype, Twitter and Facebook, communication has changed into a completely different beast. When I took business communications at Carolina (the real Carolina, USC) we learned about how to send memos, letters and even resumes. Now that I am in the business world, I am finding that things I thought were common practice are not. I am realizing that I have to change the way that I send and receive email. Now I respond to about half of the emails I receive on my cell phone. I find that now I have to copy people in, send response timelines and put very accurate subject lines. In college, I have found that these simple “rules of thumb” are not necessarily practices I have been embracing. The time has come where these are no longer suggestions but necessities. I thought that it would be difficult in mastering one area of communication, but in the project management field it is necessary to be effective in all areas.

My first couple of weeks at BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina can be described in one word: exciting. When I first came to BCBS, I went through new hire orientation and started training. Immediately, I was thrown into the mix and started to attend training within my department. Within a matter of days I was assigned my first project. My goal after attending the University of South Carolina is to get a position as a project manager. This internship will prepare me for the intricate job of being a project leader. My classes have prepared me in methodology and approach, even dealing with clients on some extent, but nothing can prepare you for dealing with many different people, in different environments, all working toward one goal of finishing a project on time and on budget. Overall these first few weeks have been extremely challenging but also very rewarding. I look forward to the next 8 weeks.

Some of you may remember Dakota from our profile on him while he was an instructor at a computer camp last summer. If not, check it out here:

 

About Dakota Hunter
Dakota is an Integrated Information Technology major at the University of South Carolina. He was previously an intern at the State Department of Vocation Rehabilitation and IT-oLogy. A graduating senior from Wagener, South Carolina, Dakota hopes to take on roles in project management. He hopes to be working on his masters in an IT or project related field very soon, and his dream is to one day become a CIO. Dakota is a member of the Midlands Chapter of the Project Management Institute, and enjoys playing golf, watching movies and cooking.

There is nothing better than telling stories of students who are doing some amazing stuff in the world of IT. Dakota Hunter is one of those students, he is attends the University of South Carolina studying Information Technology. We found him teaching middle school students the basics of HTML right here at IT-oLogy’s world head quarters.

Dakota has a special talent, sharing his knowledge of web development and design. When I first walked into the class with my camera, I knew there was something special about his style. He knows how to interact with the students and he knows his stuff. Dakota talked about the joy of teaching, how it provides an opportunity for him to learn from the students and the classroom experience. His teaching has reinforced his knowledge and has gained valuable communication skills for the work place.

The camp in the video is a two week camp for middle school students. This camp rotates, allowing other students to attend and learn more about a discipline and the world of IT. To learn more about IT-oLogy’s camps, CLICK HERE!