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DSU’s Gaffney Looks Forward to Summer Internship

Madison -- Don’t look for one of Dakota State University’s star basketball player and student to be relaxing this summer. Instead, Dawn Gaffney, a junior from Storm Lake, IA majoring in English for Information Systems, will spend her summer busily working as a web intern for the Bureau of Personnel for the state of South Dakota.

Gaffney’s job will be to transform the 100+ page State Employee Group Health plan book into a user-friendly website. The Bureau of Personnel contacted Dakota State University earlier this winter looking for a student intern. Gaffney was recommended by Eric Johnson, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, and John Laflin, professor for the College of Liberal Arts.

"Dawn is an excellent candidate for this internship because of her excellent knowledge and skills working with the World Wide Web and her highly imaginative nature," said Johnson.

Gaffney will be able to design the web site and will set it up all on her own. When it is completed, she will train the Bureau of Personnel employees on how to update and use the site. "This is my first internship, and I am looking forward to the experience and recognition I will gain from this job," said Gaffney.

Gaffney said her education at DSU has enabled her to take on this internship. She has spent the past two years immersing herself in her education and has taken many courses that involve computers. She specifically cited a course she has taken this semester, Web Publishing (taught by DSU professor Patricia Ericsson), as providing her with the skills and knowledge she needs to complete this project.

She hopes to complete most of her internship here in Madison on DSU’s campus. "Because DSU has an extensive computer environment, I’ll be able to do most of the work here on campus. I’ll have to start out in Pierre so that I can develop a working relationship with the Bureau of Personnel, but I hope to be able to finish up at DSU," said Gaffney. She also stated that this internship works out well for her because she’ll be able to work out all summer for basketball, still be able to take summer school, and do an internship at the same time.

Gaffney was also recently named NAIA All-American Scholar Athlete for the 1996-97 basketball season. This program recognizes excellence in the classroom and on the athletic court. To be honored, Gaffney had to have a minimum GPA of 3.5, played at least 50% of all games, and been a significant contributor to her team. Gaffney is a 6’3" forward for the Dakota State University Lady T’s, where she averaged 10.8 points a night while shooting 56.3% from the field.

This is not the first time Dakota State University students and graduates have been able to develop web sites for the state of South Dakota. Many of the pages on the state’s web site have been designed by DSU students or graduates. Visit http://www.state.sd.us/ to find out more.