Resume-strengthening experience is baked into Robinson’s B.B.A. in computer information systems program. During their final semester, students complete a required internship or field study as part of the capstone course. Take recent graduate Phillip Jones, who worked on the City of East Point’s information technology team.
To encourage participation in the 2020 Census, Jones used Lens Studio to create a Snapchat portal. Users can explore East Point landmarks such as the MARTA station and City Hall; the filming site for episodes of The Walking Dead; and information about rapper Big Boi, who attended high school there.
“We sprinkled a bunch of interesting nuggets throughout,” Jones said. “It was a marketing strategy to help people learn about the city while simultaneously promoting the census.”
In collaboration with the Department of Parks & Recreation, Jones developed a K-12 STEM curriculum for East Point summer camps customized by age group. For example, Jones used Tinkercad and Giphy to build arcade games for K-4 children. The coursework became more complex for middle schoolers. Projects included the development of personal and group websites, the creation of a 3D first-person water gun shooter game using the Unity engine, and the deployment of virtual reality environments via Amazon Sumerian.
“The kids learned to set up rooms with lighting sequences and configure certain behaviors,” Jones said.
The high school curriculum became even more rigorous. Via interactive tutorial CryptoZombies, campers got comfortable with blockchain programming and smart contracts.
As part of another project with the Department of Economic Development, Jones produced an interactive website containing the city’s demographic information such as marital status, number of children per household, and voter participation.
“Users can drill down and export spreadsheets and heat maps for data analytics purposes,” Jones said.
Jones now works as a technology analyst at Johnson & Johnson, where he manages technology platforms such as Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, and IBM Cognos TM1. His internship with the City of East Point certainly set him up for success.
“I learned how to ask the right questions and take away relevant information,” Jones said. “I use the skills I acquired at the internship every day.”