The Albany State University College of Business is preparing students for premier business information systems (BIS) internships.

Lakea Chatmon, a senior BIS major from Albany, Ga., has been hired as the Information Systems Analyst by the U.S. Department of State for the Carl T. Rowan Chapter of Blacks in Government. In her position, Chatmon provides proactive and reactive website maintenance using a content management system (CMS) and website support. An opportunity may be available to work on projects for the national organization of Blacks In Government (BIG) and attend the annual National Training Institute as part of the Future Leader’s in America’s Government (FLAG) program.

“I’m excited about it. It’s allowing me to use what I’ve learned in the coursework in the field,” said Chatmon, who hopes to work for the national security agency in the information technology field. 

BIS program faculty members, in partnership with North Carolina A&T State University, are teaching a spring 2015 class on mainframe introduction via a Special Topics course. Dr. Cameron Seay will serve as an adjunct faculty member in the program. This course will prepare ASU students who participated in the IBM Master the Mainframe program between October and December 2014 for summer internships in the investment, retail, and banking sectors.

“The College of Business prides itself in preparing students who not only possess the technical skills for the job market, but also the business acumen needed to help expand their career options,” said Dr. Kathaleena Edward Monds, professor of Business Information Systems.

Recently, Andre Joseph, a senior BIS major from Camden County, Ga., accepted an internship with the Dougherty County School System Information Technology Department.  In the position, he will work with the helpdesk unit and the service analyst unit to support desktops, laptops, tablets and more. 

“It’s a great hands-on experience,” Joseph said.  “The internship is definitely in the field that I’m trying to get into.”  Joseph plans to one day work as a consultant, advising clients on software needs and strategies. 

“We are excited to expand internship opportunities to all of our students as information systems has always been a high-demand discipline,” Monds said.