Fun facts about Avery Awerkamp: she just started the MISM program this past year; a total soccer fanatic, she watched every game of the 2018 World Cup; and she interned at Honeywell Aerospace last summer back in her hometown, Tempe, Arizona.
Avery worked on the company’s ServiceNow team –a third party cloud-based software to manage internal IT requests. Based on employee feedback and discussion, she created ideas to update the Honeywell website and user interfaces. “I love making our designs more user-friendly,” she said. “Finding out what makes a better web design gets me so excited about the work.”
She felt a little intimidated taking an internship at Honeywell, worried she didn’t know enough about IT or the people. However, she quickly learned what Honeywell expected of its interns: just learn on the job.
“You don’t need all the technical skills at the start of the job,” she explained. That being said, she expressed gratitude for everything the IS Core taught her before taking the job. “You’ll find that it prepares you enough to succeed at your job.”
The data communications networking class proved to be one of the most important for Avery. “I wish I had paid more attention now that I’m here!” Being able to put yourself out there and connect with other professionals often acts as one of the greatest skills students can develop in preparation for their future careers.
Honeywell emphasizes the importance of networking in its corporate events. Each summer, Honeywell flies all its interns out to its headquarters in New Jersey and Washington D.C. for an IT summit. Interns collaborate with one another and present on case studies. Presenting to the company’s leadership offers hands-on and personal learning experiences, along with direct connections for future career opportunities.
Avery’s experiences at Honeywell have set her up for the prospects ahead of her. She hopes her new love for user experience combined with professional connections from networking will present her with an opportunity to work for Disney one day.