Seeking an internship opportunity for a bright, capable and enthusiastic student

I am seeking an individual or organization in the Greater Hartford area interested in offering a summer internship to a bright and enthusiastic student with three years of education and experience developing small business websites with the Drupal content management system.

Over the past three years, as an educational consultant with the Windsor Public Schools, starting with a computing curriculum that served as the final classes of his high school education, I have provided one-on-one college-preparatory and vocational training to a student working towards a career in web development. We have focused on Drupal and Drupal-related technologies--- at times, taking the form of traditional college courses with instructional exercises, and at times, taking the form of mentor and mentee working on websites which would go live for small business clients.

Specific topics upon which we have focused include:

• Fundamentals of the Internet and World Wide Web (e.g., client/server, HTTP, static vs. dynamic websites, web programming languages, server-side vs. client-side processing, web frameworks, content management systems)
• Overview of technology of the World Wide Web (e.g., Linux, Apache HTTP Server, MySQL, PHP)
• HTML, CSS, a touch of JavaScript, and the building of static websites
• A brief comparison of Content Management Systems (e.g., Plone, Drupal, Joomla, WordPress)
• The Drupal Content Management System
  • Installation and configuration of Drupal core
  • Selection and configuration of Drupal modules and Linux application libraries (e.g., CCK and field-related, Views, image-related, video-related, event-related, social-media-related, SEO-related, security-related, Rules)
  • Creation, configuration and customization (e.g., subtheming, use of templates and CSS) of Drupal themes (e.g., Adaptive Theme, Omega)
  • System administration tasks related to Drupal (e.g., updates, backups, migration, drush, basic MySQL commands, system commands)
• Discussion of website development methodologies, and involvement in all phases of website development from first client contact through website maintenance
• Use of LAMP, MAMP and VirtualBox as a development environment on Linux, Mac OS and Windows platforms
• Use of graphics applications (e.g., Photoshop, GIMP, Inkscape) for basic graphics drawing and manipulation
• Introduction to computer programming concepts, and some exploration of computer programming (e.g., Python)

A significant portion of the education provided has included building small business websites with the student taking the lead, interacting with other technologists, and interacting with paying clients through the full website development cycle of requirements gathering and analysis, design and development through multiple iterations, deployment and maintenance.

Among the student's strengths are:

• an ability to work independently, ask questions, understand and clarify problems, learn quickly, and develop technical solutions
• very good written communication skills and good verbal communication skills
• an attention to detail and an attention to the needs of the client/customer
• an enthusiasm for web development and Drupal, working with collegues, and helping individuals and organizations to achieve their objectives through technology

There is a lot of flexibility in how a summer internship might be structured to benefit both the student and the organization providing the internship, and a few specifics that would need consideration.

The organization could be a Drupal shop or a web development firm that could make use of an intern with Drupal expertise. The organization could be a non-technical business or a non-profit organization looking for an intern to develop or revamp their website.

During the course of the internship, I would serve as the student's "faculty advisor" supporting the student through the experience or providing additional instruction--- strongly or loosely depending on the needs and interests of the student and the organization providing the internship.

If you are an individual or organization with interest in offering a summer internship to a capable website and Drupal developer, I would enjoy sharing a more detailed discussion and exploring that possibility with you.

I look forward to speaking with interested individuals and organizations.

Sincerely,

Mark,

Dr. Mark A. Friedman, President and Computer Scientist
The Richard Roman Institute
phone: 860-263-9263
email: drmarkafriedman@richardroman.com