On May 8, 2025, our team—Prismatic Insights, composed of five BS Computer Science students from Gordon College—had the opportunity to participate in an industry visit to DBA Global Shared Services, Inc., a company known for delivering IT solutions and digital services to global partners. The visit was facilitated by Ms. Kandy Fernandez (Associate HR Specialist) and Ms. Araceli Gutay (Senior HR Manager), who welcomed us warmly and provided a structured overview of the company’s values, operations, and its IT department’s dynamic environment. A highlight of the visit was meeting Ms. Lovelyn Perez, a Gordon College alumna and now a web developer at DBA, whose journey from student to tech professional served as a motivating reminder of what’s possible through perseverance and continued learning.
The experience offered us a clearer understanding of the realities of working in the IT industry, exposing us to agile practices, quality assurance workflows, and collaboration tools that we had only discussed in class. We learned the importance of soft skills like communication and adaptability, alongside technical expertise. Listening to Ms. Perez reinforced the idea that tech careers are non-linear and built on continuous growth, feedback, and learning.
This visit also encouraged us to further sharpen our skills in widely used web technologies such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP, while also emphasizing the value of practical experience through internships and collaborative projects. We now understand the importance of professional practices like version control using Git, clear documentation, and task management tools like Trello or Jira, which we aim to adopt in our academic work to mirror industry standards.
The event was excellently organized, with DBA’s HR team providing a meaningful and welcoming experience. Every part of the visit—from the walkthrough to the employee talks—was informative, well-paced, and engaging, and it reflected a positive and inclusive company culture that left a lasting impression.
For future activities, it would be beneficial to include a live demonstration of a project lifecycle to connect theoretical knowledge with real-world application, as well as provide takeaway materials such as digital handouts summarizing internship opportunities, employee insights, and company information to help students explore potential career paths more effectively.