CCI IT/ICT students visit Leon High School

Posted by Kate Blosser on

DSC_9692Recently, the College of Communication and Information students partnered up with FITC Alliance and FSU STARS to speak to students at Leon County High School. The group spoke to three classes of Leon students about careers and possibilities with information technology, computer science, and information communication technology.

The presentation was organized by students in the IT Leadership class: Anne Marie Pollitt, Julia Zimmerman, andYi Fang. Other presenters included Milton Ramer and Courtney Lisenbee from STARS/FITC Alliance, with Lauren Lewis and Jessica Perez-Espejo from FITC Alliance.

Athena Gill’s classes at Leon High listened to a presentation about the “big picture” and tech career options available to them.  “My students returned to class excited to share their conversations about what they’d learned from you,” she shared. “I cannot convey how much I appreciated the incredible job you did teaching our students.”

DSC_9715According to Julia Zimmerman, one of the event organizers, “Being able to reach out to students during their high school years is something I highly enjoy. I know when I was in high school I wish I was presented with some of the information we shared with them.  Encouraging these students to reach their full potential really makes me appreciate what FSU has to offer. I had a great experience with each of Ms. Gills class periods; learning about each student personally while guiding and informing them of their possibilities really was an amazing feeling.”

 

Some of the students who presented were a part of the STARS Alliance and the FITC Alliance, though the College of Communication and Information.

STARS Alliance (Students & Technology in Academia, Research, & Service) is a group of undergraduate students who work towards increasing participation of women, under-represented minorities, and persons with disabilities in IT/computing disciplines through multi-faceted interventions. Recently, they took home Best College Chapter Award at the annual STARS conference in Washington D.C.

The Florida IT Career Alliance (FITC), is made possible through support provided from the Florida Board of Governors given to Florida State University and Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University. It was established to help recruit, retain, and employ Florida’s next generation technology workforce. Through engaging academic and industry partners, FITC has reached thousands of students since it’s inception in May 2014.