UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Alexander Chlysta, a junior in Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), recently completed an internship at Lowe’s Companies Inc. in Mooresville, North Carolina, the corporate offices of the Fortune 500 home improvement retailer. Chlysta, who zeroed in on the company after meeting with several internship opportunities at a spring IST career fair, felt that Lowe’s was the best fit for him because he was interested in the challenge of working for a Fortune 500 company that was far from home.
Having the chance to work in a business environment and learn how an enterprise like Lowe’s operates was one reason Chlysta chose them, as well as giving him firsthand knowledge of how big businesses utilize the growing field of information technology (IT), which he studies at IST.
“Academically, this internship has definitely given me a better perspective on IT in big businesses, and allowed me to apply the knowledge I learned in the classroom to what I am working on,” he said. “I also learned a lot about myself and how I work in the business field and with a team.”
Chlysta’s daily duties during his ten-week internship included data profiling and creating test data — which he said improved his technical skills and will give him much-needed experience in the field, and attending numerous meetings. He was also able to meet Lowe’s CEO Robert Niblock and the company’s chief information officer, Paul Ramsay, which was one of the highlights of his internship, he said.
Chlysta credited his summer work experience with better preparing him for the business world and making him more adaptable. “One of the hardest challenges was learning to work with a team within a business setting, as this was my first experience,” he said. “However, my team and all of my co-workers have been extremely helpful.”
Completing a summer internship in his field of study helped Chlysta understand the skills and education he has gleaned from his classes at IST, he said, and gave him a better understanding of what to expect when applying for a full-time position in the future.
“I also learned a lot about how to effectively communicate my ideas, as well as being open-minded, which will help both in the classroom and in the workforce,” he said, adding that the internship will definitely help him to succeed in IST and beyond.