Students Hear And Learn From Entrepreneurs At UCA IT Careers Camp

The ninth annual UCA IT Careers Camp was held this past week. Students from all over the state in grades 9-12 were on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas learning about careers in IT sponsored by Acxiom and this year, HP. Acxiom makes the camp available to students who would like to attend at no cost.

Throughout the week, students hear from various entrepreneurs and developers and learn about different types of technology and related careers.

Last Thursday night, the students participated in a mini BarCamp. Among the presenters were Jordan Little, Mary Dunlap, Anelle King, Kyle Tabor, Joyti Lai, Dana Robbins, Luke Coleman, Marshall Richards, and Tim Freeman and Ryan Guinee from HARK.

Wednesday night, the students talked about wearable technology. Shawn Goichea and members of The Local came to help students create a circuit as well as sew their Gema to whatever the campers chose.

Thursday was the mini BarCamp.

• Jordan Little from Inuvo talked about User Interface Design and User Experience.
• Mary Dunlap of the Iron Yard inspired students to dream.
• Annelle King introduced students to the world of robotics.
• Kyle Tabor from Blue Sail Coffee talked about turning ideas into reality, sharing his story of launching and running a local coffee shop.
• Luke Coleman talked about wearable tech.
• Marshall Richards, a student himself, talked about drones.
• HARK talked about capturing the conversations of entrepreneurs.
• Joyti Lai of Acxiom discussed careers in IT.
• Dana Robbins of Inuvo talked about Data in Pictures.

Friday, the students learned about Raspberry Pi and were able to tour the facilities of Acxiom, The Venture Center and HP. Overall, the students learned how a career in technology is possible in a variety of different settings.