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ShareAndrew Beckman Recognized as "Young Cincy IT Talent"
09/15/09
CINCINNATI, September 15, 2009 – As part of an outreach to engage young IT talent early, Kao Brands – the international manufacturer of such recognized health and beauty products as Jergens, Ban, John Frieda, Biore and Curel -- hosted three interns from local area high schools this summer. The internships were part of a program offered to local businesses by the INTERalliance of Greater Cincinnati, a collaboration of businesses and educators that connects the region’s best technical talent with local employers.
The three students were selected through a highly competitive interview process conducted by Kao Brands and INTERalliance, with more than 35 candidates applying for consideration from 17 regional high schools. The incoming 12th grade students selected for this prestigious professional development opportunity were Andrew Beckmann (Summit Country Day), Emily Spencer (Walnut Hills High School), and Evan Cheshire (Wyoming High School). Beckmann's assignment for Kao Brands was as a Global Service Desk Technician, while Spencer and Cheshire worked as Application Analysts, one focusing on master data management and the other on process documentation. Not your typical summer job cutting grass or flipping burgers to say the least.
Doug Arthur, Executive Director of the INTERalliance of Greater Cincinnati, is delighted to have added Kao Brands to the family of companies offering these kinds of intensive career deep-dives for our young people. "It is through exactly this type of intimate engagement with mentors and career opportunities that we will be able to 'stop the brain drain' and keep our best and brightest young people connected to the Cincinnati region."
Elisha Busch, an IT functional analyst for Kao Brands, is a graduate of the Information Systems program at the College of Business at University of Cincinnati, one of the founding sponsors of the INTERalliance. She reached out to Dr. Vivek Choudhury of UC while preparing to give a presentation about IT careers to students at McCauley High School. Choudhury directed her to Arthur for information on getting Kao Brands involved in the INTERalliance. The happy ending is that the relationship between Kao Brands and the INTERalliance is just beginning.
Says Robert Garriott, Kao Brands Vice President and CIO, “We have been very pleasantly surprised with the productivity of these students. [They] demonstrated the ability to add value far beyond their cost in the short time they were here. Our key learning from this experience is to expect more....” And so, the door of opportunity for Cincinnati's talented youth opens a bit wider still.
About the INTERalliance of Greater Cincinnati
The INTERalliance is a non-profit collaboration of businesses and educators formed in 2005. The mission of the INTERalliance is to create a renowned, thriving and sustainable pool of IT talent in the Greater Cincinnati Region that not only fulfills local demand, but also is strong enough to attract new employers to the area. More information is available online at www.interalliance.org.
