My Work

Skills Developed in the Program

In the IT minor, I learned many skills that have helped me succeed not only in the program but in my other academic work. These skills can be categorized into web skills, data skills, and communication skills. While discussing the skills I learned in the minor, I will also discuss how the skills I have learned transcend the minor and provide me with a set of expertise that is outside of my field of study.  

Web Skills

Before starting the program, I could not explain how a website worked or even how to create one. Now, I can build a website from the ground up and write HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create a fully functional website. Learning how to code in each of those coding languages helped me to improve my problem-solving skills. There were times when I wrote code, I broke it, and I had to fix it. I did not stop and immediately ask for help. I searched for the answer myself and tried to troubleshoot the problem by editing the code to see where I made a mistake. I fixed the problem myself to see what I did wrong.

Problem-solving skills are necessary for any career and in life. During my time in the program when I began to realize that problem solving is a necessary skill that is full of learning opportunities. One instance of this happening was when I was working on the navigation bar for my segway micro-site. The code I wrote was broken, and I had no idea where the problem was in the code. So the first thing I did was to go through the code line by line and try to find the problem. After searching through the code, I still did not know what the problem was. So I started Googling about HTML navigation and while trying to solve my problem I found many websites, but one never seemed to solve my problem. However, because I was looking at different lines of codes on a variety of websites I started to realize why my navigation did not work, the HTML was not the problem it was my CSS. The div I was referencing in the CSS was nav, not navigation. By forcing myself to solve the problem I learned a lot of new things about creating a navigation that I would not have learned in class. Sometimes problems are big and take time to fix, while other problems are as simple as a missed semicolon, small but frustrating.

Communication Skills

Of the communication skills I learned in the program, the most important was how to work in a team effectively. Team projects are a part of life, so we must all be good at working with other people. I had a lot of teamwork exercises and projects, which allowed me to become comfortable working in a group setting. Communication is the cornerstone of creating a successful group project. Individuals vary in the level of their communication skills. One of the lessons we learned about group communication was that it is unlikely that two people will communicate in a group setting the same way. All members contribute in different ways and understanding that is important for trying to understand how the group will work together. It is important that I understand the role I play in a group project because it will help me understand the group dynamics and how to improve communication within the group. Being comfortable in a group project setting is an important skill to possess no matter if I am an attorney or in any career I choose. Working with others is a necessary skill, but being comfortable in a team project setting is essential for the project to succeed. I learned so many communication skills in the program, like being comfortable while giving a speech and creating an elevator speech, but I truly believe the most valuable communication skill I learned was learning to be comfortable in a group or team project environment.

Data Skills

Many individuals think that opening either Excel or Google Sheets is a daunting task, and I used to be one of those people. After learning Excel and Google Sheets, I learned how to create and operate a database. While the particular skills to deal with a database, Excel, or Google Sheets involve formulas and numbers, the skill that transcends from working in those programs is that you need to know what you want the outcome to be. Anyone can take any type of data and transform it using formulas or queries, but knowing what you want from the data allows someone to create information. Any attorney can work for the plaintiff or the defendant, they have the necessary skills, but knowing the type of outcome their client desires is why they argue the case the way they do. They know the outcome they want and use the necessary pieces they have to develop their case, to try to get the outcome they want. Thinking about what kind of outcome, you would like is a skill that everyone needs. It is one thing to know that you have to write a seven-page paper, and fill it with nonsense, but it is another to know that in that paper you want an “A,” and the ability demonstrate your thesis. Thinking about the desired outcomes forces a person to make a plan when they do something. Creating a plan and thinking about the outcome is almost second nature to me now, and has become an incredibly useful skill for me.

The Information Technology minor program has provided me with new skills I did not know I would learn. The skills I learned in this program are incredibly valuable to me and have provided me with a unique skill set. I entered into this program knowing very little about anything I was going to learn, and I am leaving the program wanting to know more and understand more. What I learned in this program are skills and assets that will take me far beyond the technology world, they will provide me with a unique skill set as an attorney or in any career I choose.