Shipley Energy IT internship
This past summer I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to work a full-time internship within my major. I completed a twelve week internship program at Shipley Energy in their IT department. Shipley Energy is the largest locally owned provider of home heating energy, including oil, natural gas and propane, in Central Pennsylvania. Shipley Energy also supplies electricity, ventilation and air conditioning equipment, along with operating the Tom’s convenience store chain and Sweet Arrow Springs. Working for Shipley was extremely beneficial to my professional development and knowledge of IT. As my role as an IT intern, I was exposed to several different programs and software. I worked heavily with SQL and Microsoft Visual Studio generating useful reports for various departments of the company. I became familiar with a wide range of databases and servers. I also expanded my understanding of IT infrastructure working with and help managing a data center. I was also fortunate enough to travel to off site locations of Shipley to take IT inventory and assist in networking issues. I sat in on meetings with my manager Paul and IT department meetings where I was assigned sprint objectives. I was also involved with leadership meetings with the heads of the company where I gave a presentation about my internship assignment at the end of the twelve weeks. Having the opportunity for work in the IT department of an energy company was exciting. Not only did I have a valuable experience that will benefit me in my career path, but I was able to learn about the energy industry which has such a prevalent impact in today’s global economy. The greatest benefit I took away from this experience is that it has made me more self-reliant. I process information analytically and I am a better problem solver because of it.
