Amir Hall says his summer internship experience reinforced his home training.  He’s always been taught how to communicate, make eye contact, and speak clearly so he was ready when his IT mentors expected it from him.

The Southern School of Energy and Sustainability Junior said he is a believer in protecting your information so his natural inclination is toward cybersecurity certification. But for those who may not know what type of career to pursue, Amir says IT exposure will give you a “good idea of what you may want to do. It’s a hands-on perspective.”

Amir’s hands-on experience included networking wi-fi routers, phones, and cell phones, and building devices.

Rolling up his sleeves to work as an intern with the Durham Public Schools IT department was eye-opening, he said. He met nice people and made good friends with his intern colleagues. He also learned that life will require you to face challenging work, follow rules, and make accommodations to get work done.

For his peers, he has the following advice.

“Even if you don’t go into IT, it’s a pretty important thing to learn the rudiments of work and get a hands-on perspective,” said Amir. Working with DPS made the day-to-day fun, he said.

“It was a family-type community at Hamlin (the building that houses the IT headquarters),” he said. “It was just a fun experience meeting new people.”

He plans to intern for two more years, finish high school, and take classes at the community college so that he can shore up his networking and cybersecurity skills.

Amir says he was introduced to IT via television, watching shows and movies. And he is the go-to in his family when technology isn’t working. The internship seemed like a natural progression.

“It was like going to school and getting paid to learn,” Amir said.

For more information about the summer internship program and how to apply, go to https://www.applitrack.com/dpsnc/onlineapp/1BrowseFile.aspx?id=169307