Joshua Haley, sophomore pre-engineering major at Northern Oklahoma College, is completing an internship with The House FM Radio 89.7. Haley, a 2015 graduate of Bishop High School in Bishop, Texas, is assisting the company engineers in daily inspections and repair of their radio equipment.
His internship is providing a wide variety of engineering and information technology opportunities. In the main offices of The House FM, Haley backs up office computers and inspects transmitters.
“This internship has provided me with more outside knowledge on equipment like transmitters, UPS's [battery backups] and even generators that I would have a hard time finding elsewhere,” he said. “I get to see how different technology can interact and work with each other in order to achieve a goal.”
Haley is enthusiastic about the variety of machines he is works with on a daily basis. “In class, we talk about a single machine and how it specifically works,” he commented.
His favorite part of the job is learning how transmitters and receivers send data to each other in order to create more efficient networking.
According to Dr. Frankie Wood-Black, NOC director of process technology, “Joshua is lucky to be learning from David Land, chief engineer at The House FM. David is experienced with technology and [is] a skilled educator.”
“We are very happy to have Joshua do an internship with our ministry,” Land stated. “He was shown many facets of what goes into keeping 18 stations on the air.”
After graduating from NOC, Haley plans to attend Oklahoma State University and pursue a degree in computer engineering.
“NOC students are blessed to have supportive business and industry partners in the area who will take time to work with our interns,” said Dr. Rae Ann Kruse. Kruse is Dean of Academic Services for NOC and sets up internships for students.
“Area professionals are generous with their time and skills to help NOC students start building a professional network,” she continued.
According to NOC advisory committee members, local employers want to hire students who have good customer service skills, problem-solving skills, leadership skills and a work ethic. NOC students who participate in internships get an early jump on building their work portfolio.