I never thought I’d be working in an internship that is as engaging, inventive, and creative at this point of my life. I was given the opportunity to work at HCSS, a software company, as a Learning Management System summer intern, and, to be quite frank, I had no idea what to expect. I was extremely nervous since this was my first internship at a big company, and I had very little experience applying my skills outside of school.
However, all my doubts were quickly diminished once I started working. I was given small tasks to start off with, and then my supervisor set up a meeting with a representative from the learning management system (LMS) that HCSS uses. In this meeting, I was able to see the ins and outs to what I’d be primarily working on, which is the HCSS Academy. After I became familiar with the Academy, I started editing videos and organizing courses within the LMS.
Projects
I started off by being handed some small internal projects within the company. My first task was to create a PDF for a course by the Cloud Services team, and I got to debut my design skills. I was then given the responsibility to re-design certain elements of the LMS. My supervisor gave me free reign on the design, and now it’s going to be the new look of the LMS. (On a quick side note, HCSS actually allows their interns to make decisions and have their work integrated into the company and its products.) Coming from a previous job where my work as an intern wasn’t used a whole lot, I was extremely excited when my design was going to be implemented into the LMS.
Another unique project that I worked on for a couple of months was actually for the support department. I was asked to create support stickers that were going to be used as a form of recognition and achievement throughout the support department. It was a great way to meet more co-workers and actually work with them to create what they need. With this project, I was actually able to enhance my graphic design skills and creativity in a way I’ve never done before.
Now I’m currently working on creating a software certification exam, and I’m also re-designing the HCSS Community website. As a Digital Media major at the University of Houston, I am constantly building and improving my portfolio of work, and having an internship where I can keep adding more and more to it is extremely rewarding.
New Technical Skills I’ve Learned
Through this internship I’ve also been able to acquire some new technical skills. I learned how to use Camtasia, a video editing software that we use to create the training videos for the LMS. I learned how to use Adobe Captivate to create simulation trainings that also include tests and quizzes. And I learned how to work in the Skill Jar platform and understand how it works to form the LMS. As an LMS Intern, I now know some basics to e-learning, which is an up-and-coming concept in this digital age, and I already have some hands-on experience with it.
HCSS Culture & Experience
I love what I do as an intern, but the culture at HCSS makes it even more worthwhile. It’s exciting to wake up and see what’s new at work. HCSS is always incorporating new things into the workplace for their employees, and that makes employees feel special about working there.
One particular thing I enjoy at work is going outside with a few coworkers and getting to play with dogs. (HCSS allows employees to bring their dogs to work and keep them in kennels outside.) It’s such a fun way to take a quick break, and I also get to socialize with some of my coworkers.
HCSS genuinely cares about their employees and really knows how to give us an excellent work life. My overall experience here has been extremely rewarding, and I am very grateful to have this experience. I’ve been able to learn so much and grow my skills, and I’m excited that I get to continue into the spring semester.
Credit: Photography by Josh Espinoza