Baraboo senior receives prestigious internship in Washington, D.C.

June 29, 2009

Senior Mitchell Paschen of Baraboo is gaining real world information technology experience through his internship with U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Washington, D.C.

The prestigious Microsoft-AAPD Federal I.T. Internship Program is offered through the American Association of People with Disabilities and is sponsored by Microsoft. The program provides students with disabilities, who have shown an interest in information technology careers, with the opportunity to participate in highly sought-after federal internships.

Ten college students with disabilities from all over the country were chosen for this year’s internship program. Paschen has Asperger’s syndrome, a high-functioning autism spectrum disorder.

“It is a real honor to be one of only 10 people to be accepted into the AAPD IT Internship Program,” Paschen said. “It feels great to be the best of the best.”

After receiving an e-mail about the internship and learning that lodging and airfare would be included, Paschen figured he had nothing to lose by applying. An interview followed and after several weeks he received the good news.

The real world experience Paschen is gaining is invaluable. He will have the opportunity to improve his technical computer skills as he works to deploy 152 new computers and shadows the Customs and Border Protection server technician.

“The classroom can only teach so much when it comes to computers and working with them,” Paschen said. “Experience is needed in the real world to not only obtain a job these days, but also to gain the skills needed to be successful in IT.”

Every day brings something new at the Customs and Border Protection office. On a normal day, Paschen does anything from setting up computers to dealing with software issues. When he is not working Paschen enjoys being a tourist and taking advantage of all Washington, D.C. has to offer.

Known to his family and friends as a human GPS, Paschen is well on his way to achieving his dream of combining his interests in geography and information technology by working for a company that deals with GPS software.

“This internship will teach me the technical computer skills required to maintain a computer system and help with how the computers are put together,” Paschen said. “In order to get into the higher end stuff like GPS I need to learn the basics of computers and this internship will help with that.”