March 3, 2020

West Virginia University at Parkersburg Ntiva Service Desk Academy student interns recently laid down their headsets to travel to Ntiva Headquarters in McLean, Va., to work side-by-side with employees from across the country.

Students Anthony Bowie, Justin Cronin, Jadon Satterfield and Mike Shotwell, attended the “All Hands” meeting with Service Desk Senior Manager Josh Strahler to discuss year-end financials and performance, as well as cast vision for the new year and company goals.

“For the interns, its an opportunity for them to see ‘who’ they work with; not only the people but the area and the office,” said Strahler. “It’s also a great equalizer. When they’re together with the rest of the group, they’re seen as equals, peers and friends.”

In addition to attending the “All Hands” meeting, the students gathered in Tysons, Va., for Ntiva’s annual holiday party. The team was treated to a night of food, prizes and the chance to meet their peers from different offices and areas of the country, including Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.

The Ntiva Service Desk Academy opened six months ago in the WVU Parkersburg Caperton Center for Applied Technology, enabling students in the college’s Computer and Information Technology (CIT) Learn and Earn program to work remotely for the D.C.-based tech company while completing their associate degree. Students work in a live, fully-functional, professional IT service desk environment, working with customers on IT requests, technical issues and projects while earning $16 an hour and working up to 1,200 hours during the internship period.

“The interns have grown leaps and bounds over the last semester,” said Strahler. “I am absolutely blown away by their growth here both professionally and personally. Each one of the interns brings a unique skillset and personality to the table and its truly been an honor to work alongside them as they begin their careers in the IT industry.”

Looking to the future, Ntiva and WVU Parkersburg would like to expand the service desk academy to accept an additional eight to 12 learn and earn students.

To learn more about WVU Parkersburg’s Computer and Information Technology Learn and Earn program, visit wvup.edu/learnandearn.