UCA and Acxiom hosted 40 students representing 15 high schools during the annual Information Technology Careers Camp held this summer on the UCA campus. Although this year marked the camp’s fifth-year anniversary, and brought some seasoned players to the event, such as Summer Bartczak and Jim Downey, UCA MIS department faculty, and Allison Nicholas, Acxiom Recruiting, it also saw its share of changes.
“We had a larger number of students participating this year,” Bartczak said, “and they gained combined exposure to both our MIS and our Computer Science departments for the first time.”
That exposure also included time with Michael Nooner, a CS faculty member. Downey describes Nooner as a “hard-core techie,” finding that a number of the students tend to gravitate to him because of their love for technology.
“Every year, we see a very distinct separation in the students based on their passion for technology,” he said. “There are those who are very hard-core, like Michael, and you tend to see them around him a lot. Others are interested because that’s what they want to do with their career. We’ve seen this division in most camps,” he noted.
While the camp, like technology, continues to evolve each year to stay engaging, one thing has not changed – the goals. The goals of the camp are two-fold and were developed with both a short- and long-term perspective in mind. They include:
- Generating and maintaining student interest in the technology field
- Drawing technology majors to UCA and, ultimately, to careers at Acxiom
During the four-day event, students spend the majority of their time on the UCA campus working with one another and with faculty. Their packed itinerary includes: a programming contest, website development, networking, and attending a campus Shakespeare play. The students also tour the Acxiom campuses in Conway and Little Rock to get a feel for how corporations function and to get a better understanding of real-world technology.
This camp also marks an important opportunity for their parents, who are invited to attend the first day, to better understand the technology field and where it can lead.
“We like to speak with parents and expose them to the many opportunities the technical field offers,” Bartczak said. “We believe if we support the parents that we are also supporting the kids.”
The faculty realizes that once the camp is over, it would be easy for the students to disengage. But Nicholas points out that is not the case.
“We have students who continue to make post-event connections through social media,” she said. “Many of these friendships continue on, and we are now starting to see some of our first attendees enrolling at UCA, which means they may continue those connections in college.”
“We are very appreciative that Acxiom sponsors this camp,” Downey said, “and provides this opportunity for students who love technology. It shows the company’s commitment to the community and to this career field.”
Acxiom returns the sentiment to UCA and believes it is a partnership that is making a big difference to all involved.
“We believe when we can give these students a sense of direction, and connection, and help them cultivate what they love, we all win,” Nicholas said. – Tanya Depner, human resources communications, Conway, Ark.