The WNYRIC welcomed two interns from the Erie 1 BOCES  Harkness Center Cybersecurity and Networking program to spend their spring break doing hands on work and learning from our experts. Kyle Vaarwerk from Alden High School and Benjamin Anderson from Frontier High School toured the WNYRIC facilities and sat with a variety of staff to get a closer look at what they do each and every day. This internship doubled as a networking opportunity and a chance to dive deeper into the careers available to those interested in the technology field.

Upon completion of their week at the WNYRIC, both interns sat down to recount what they learned. Vaarwerk said that his favorite part of the experience was the portion on content filtering and firewalls. He plans to attend Alfred State after graduation and is interested in becoming a field tech. Vaarwerk commented that he would like to use his knowledge and understanding of technology to help others. Anderson said cybersecurity was the area that interested him the most. He plans to attend Hilbert College after graduation and pursue a career in cybersecurity.

They enjoyed seeing how the technology and practices they learned in class came together in real world applications.  One of the many lessons instilled in them from their Erie 1 BOCES classroom was that if you don’t have a passion for learning and change, a career in technology is might not be for you. They were surprised at how many of the WNYRIC staff repeated that same sentiment to them as they met with various people and departments! Both interns were grateful for the opportunity and wanted to thank everyone who took the time to show them around and answer their questions.