Paul Winistorfer, Department Head, Department of Wood Science and Forest Products, Virginia Tech
"The College of Natural Resources greatly values our working relationships with the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research. From advanced woody plant research to efforts in workforce development, we believe that by working in concert with IALR we can leverage our financial and intellectual investments for a greater outcome. Southern Virginia is rich in natural resources and the College of Natural Resources at Virginia Tech will be a partner in the vision and mission of the Institute in the region." |
| High schoolers complete DRITA training |
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By Susan Elzey 
Drita students Eric Davey (left) and Ryan Williams (right) built robots as part of the DRITA program.
After a rigorous three-year course of study, students in the Dan River Information Technology Academy are heading off to college with a massive amount of IT knowledge and experience they wouldn’t have had otherwise. In 2006, the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research received a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation to create the academy for under-served high school students. The goal of the program was to provide the students with IT competency and work force skills. “Thirty-two students have been accepted each year, and it is a very competitive program,” Ciji Moore, coordinator of DRITA, said. “If not for this program, the students wouldn’t have been exposed to the technology opportunities they have now. I feel like we have provided them with a technology program they wouldn’t have gotten in the schools.” The program provides a wide variety of skill-building activities in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math. Students complete courses in basic IT skills and programming using C++, animation, robotics and geographic information skills, according to information provided by Moore. The classes are held on Saturdays and during the summers. During the sessions, first-year students learn such skills as how to build an Ethernet cable, design Web sites, use Dreamweaver software, use digital cameras and photo editing software, build computers and use software to create 3-D objects. In the second and third year, students complete a 72-hour externships (similar to an internship but shorter) with local businesses and educational institutions. They also participate in an annual tech expo and banquet where they present the results of their summer work for their families and instructors. The students and their parents also attend college and career workshops and visits to college campuses and industries. Benefits to students “Pretty much everything I have learned in the DRITA program has been or will be used in my life,” Eric Davey, a senior at Galileo Magnet High School, said. “The technical skills taught in the DRITA program classes have helped me thus far in school and at work, so any future jobs I have will probably require the knowledge of some program I learned to use.” One of Davey’s externships also led him to his first job. “After having a 70-hour internship with the City of Danville IT Department, I was offered a part-time job after school (and) in the summer. I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better first job,” he said. “Once I started, I worked on the new/updated Danville Web site, as well as the Facebook and Twitter accounts for the city, all of which were published around Feb. 1.” An ultimate goal of DRITA is to entice students leaving the area for college to consider returning to Danville to work after graduating.“The externships are the main piece that attracts kids to come back,” Moore said. “The purposes of the externships are to show the students that there are jobs (in the area) in IT and to give them exposure to the jobs.” Through the externships, students also earn a scholarship credit of $500 to $1000 to be paid to the college they attend. DRITA participant Annika Butler plans on attending East Carolina University and majoring in IT with a concentration in computer networking. She said that DRITA also introduced her to the CISCO company where she one day hopes to work. “DRITA gave us a wide variety of technology experience and an opportunity to find your niche,” she said. “At first, I thought, ‘You want me to spend my Saturdays and summers in Danville?’ but after I got here, it was very rewarding. “I initially started with a push from my mother, but once in the program, I began to enjoy every aspect of it.” She said another benefit of the program was that it gives the students a broader outlook about job potentials than a lawyer or teacher —“something new and interesting.” The future DRITA has now reached the end of its funding under the National Science Foundation grant, but has received a no-cost extension to proceed with the program until July. The Institute has also applied for another grant under the National Science Foundation to fund a somewhat different program that targets middle schoolers. The goal is that the new program will be as successful as DRITA has been to students like Davey and Butler. “DRITA has been a very prosperous program for me,” Butler said. “I have found the path that I will base my future on. I have met valuable friends, supporters and people who look forward to me doing great things, and people who have helped me with my decisions thus far. DRITA has been very rewarding.”
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