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Rex Barber
Johnson City Press
MILLIGAN COLLEGE — The world runs on computers today and students at Milligan College will be ready for that world thanks to a new computer lab.
The Barkes Technology Development Lab features several state-of-the-art computers created by students in the computer information systems program at Milligan. The equipment for the lab was donated by some Milligan CIS alumni and several local industries. The lab was created during the past two years.
Teresa Carter, assistant professor of computer information systems, said the lab tries to simulate actual problems and tasks faced in the work environment.
“We mimic the real world as closely as we possibly can with all the problems that they would encounter out there,” Carter said. “We try to incorporate as many different companies, as many different vendors … so the student has a very wide variety of equipment to work on that fits the industry, especially in this area.”
Each work station has two monitors — one to work on and another to display the class lesson or instructions.
“It really enhances the students’ education to be able to do that,” Carter said. “We do everything from software, hardware to the Web — everything.”
Students in the CIS program are required to do community service. That service has involved working with area churches to develop an online presence and helping businesses with computer needs, Carter said.
Nathan Bordelon, a Milligan junior majoring in CIS, remembers when the laboratory was just being created. Now he is looking forward to this semester’s project of designing online content.
“We’ll be creating Web pages to make everything accessible and it’s all going to be dynamic Web pages, which will be really fun and interesting,” he said.
Paul Rufenacht, also a junior in the CIS program, is the lab administrator. In this role he manages all the computers and servers for the program. Following graduation, he would like to use his education to pursue a career in sound, lighting and production.
“Pretty much all sound and lighting is going digital, so it’s all across the network now and so everything is going computer-based,” Rufenacht said.
He said the lab has certainly helped with his career goals.
“It’s top notch,” he said.
Photo by Ron Campbell