Online STEM Course leads to internship for High School student.

Branson Online is a virtual school serving Colorado. This virtual school is no stranger to STEM-STEAM courses with courses including Coding and 3D Video Game Design, as well as Web Coding and Design. Veteran teacher Kim Schor has been teaching these courses since 2014. Once again, one of Kim Schor’s students landed a paid internship in Web Coding and Design. This time, her student was engaged to help a company consider site design, content and messaging for the young professional demographic.

This project was a slam-dunk for BSO student Rio Hoover. You see, Rio is not just taking Ms. Schor’s class for a grade or even just for the chance to earn the industry certification, but she also has an interest in web development for her career. Considering how starved STEM companies are for bright women creators, Rio is in the right place at the right time.

Tekkii, a web development firm based in Kansas City, contacted Rio with the project idea.

How did this STEM Student land an internship?

As we all know it, sometimes, it’s all in who you know. In this case, Rio was lucky enough to have, as a teacher, Ms. Schor. She knew Rio had the knowledge and passion to be a success and Kim knew Steve Waddell (Founder of CTeLearning.com). Steve knew David Jackson (Founder of Tekkii) who has a client who is the owner of Integrity Services. When CTeLearning’s intern Libby checked out Integrity Services website she noticed they have a Australian Cattle Dog on their team too. All the stars had aligned.

At this point, you probably get the drift that a number of people (and a dog) came together on Rio’s behalf to make this internship happen.

Steve made the introductions, and Tekkii’s team did the project management for the internship. Tekkii laid out the project needs and set out the timeline and deliverables. At that point, Rio took over and dug into the project. The internship project ran from late November to mid-January.

At the end of the project Charlotte, the owner of Integrity Services met with Dave and the Tekkii management team and had a web meeting with Ms. Hoover. As a capstone to Rio’s paid internship she presented her results and pitched her next step ideas directly to the client.

David of Tekkii spoke of his experience, “Ms. Hoover really shows great promise, passion, and talent for web development. As an employer, Rio exhibits what you hope the next generation of future hires will be like. When you have an intern interact with one of your clients, it is always a bit scary, but Rio was terrific, and our client was very pleased with the quality of work and deliverables. I hope Rio continues down the web career path.”

Kim Schor has arranged paid internships for other students. BSO works hard to give their real-world STEAM experiences, allowing their students to hone their new skills and credentials.

Continuing a tradition of STEM with Web Development and Video Game Coding Courses.

BSO High School is in its fourth year, delivering the Web Coding and Design course with its optional industry certification. None of this would be possible without the outstanding educator, Kim Schor. Ms. Schor teaches a number of Drama, Business, and Career and Technical Education courses. BTW – Rio did earn her Industry Credentials.

“First and foremost, I am blessed with great students who help me, every day, to enjoy my career as a teacher. But without the outstanding support I get from the administration here at BSO, none of this would happen for our students. But I must admit, it is times like this when you see a student like Rio do something so very real and so well it can be electric,” Kim commented.

A little about Branson School Online. BSO is located in Branson, Colorado. Branson is in the Southeastern corner of the State, just 1 mile north of the New Mexico border. BSO staff members believe that every child in Colorado deserves the highest quality educational opportunities, regardless of his or her zip code. To this end, BSO has invested time, talent, and resources towards developing the finest distance learning school in the State, where service, advocacy, and educational excellence are priorities every day. http://www.bransonschoolonline.com/