Al Minnigan

My name is Al Minnigan and I am a senior in the Technology Support and Training Management major. My internship this summer was with Palmetto Health Information Technology. They have many departments within IT such as Operations, Network Security, Telecommunications, Systems Administration and Desktop Support. I spent some time in the Networking department, but my main assignment was with Desktop Support at Palmetto Richland Memorial and Palmetto Baptist Hospitals.

We were responsible for troubleshooting, repairing, and physically replacing PC's and peripherals around the hospitals, installing and updating software, keeping an inventory of all PC's, as well as some networking. We added some PC's to the palmettohealth.org domain, gave some static IP addresses and others we set up for DHCP. I learned a wealth of real-world information, such as TCP/IP, hardware, and software. Since I was given some of my own assignments to work on, I found critical thinking and logical problem-solving skills to be a necessity. Accurate documentation, inventory, and communication of technical terms to users so they can understand them is also essential in the troubleshooting process.

What I learned in classes, such as Advanced Networking (TSTM 445), Telecommunications (TSTM 545), Technical Support (TSTM 447), provided excellent background academic knowledge that helped me understand what was taking place as we provided support. Since my internship took place in a healthcare environment, I also was exposed to learning a lot about the medical field and how healthcare and information technology interact. I plan to continue in the IT field and become a network engineer or administrator. What I learned in the internship is an excellent way to steer me in the right direction and a stepping stone to my career goals. I hope to work in an educational environment, so the exposure to healthcare will give me an interesting view as to how IT works in the business world.