Workplace practicum puts Business IT grad on the fast track from college to career
A successful co-op placement gave Roy Polvorosa a head start in his career.
While attending Red River College’s Information Systems Technology (now Business Information Technology) program, Polvorosa did his work experience practicum at Imaginet, a Winnipeg-based IT consulting firm.
When Polvorosa graduated in 2011, Imaginet immediately offered him a job.
“It was a great co-operative term,” Polvorosa says. “Sometimes companies give students the crummy work, replacing keyboards and what not, but I was actually in the trenches, so to speak. I ended up learning a ton and by the time my co-op was done, I had already covered half of what I was going to do in one of my courses. I had already done it real life versus a lab.”
As a Managed Services and Support Manager at Imaginet, Polvorosa is responsible for leading his team in ironing out IT issues, while also providing direction and support for Microsoft products such as Sharepoint and Office 365.
“Everyday I meet with my team, see what’s going on, give some guidance and make sure everyone is set for their day, and then I proceed to work on my own projects,” Polvorosa says.
“Often, I put on this other hat, where I’ll talk to the CEOs and IT managers that we look after, companies that look to Imaginet as their managed services provider. I talk to them about their concerns with their IT security, [and] what they’ll be planning for in the next five years in terms of their IT infrastructure.” Read More →