The Carolina Technology Conference will present a new regional competition designed to give students in the information technology field valuable, hands-on experience from Oct. 17-18, and the whole thing is the class project of a team of USC students.
Fourth-year integrated information technology students Joseph Beasley, Katie McKinley and Clay Walker made up the group of developers. The trio had been in classes together before and thought they would make "a good fit" as a team.
They also worked closely with their professor Karen Patten and the team behind the Carolina Technology Conference, which is sponsoring the competition.
"Attending conferences as a guest, you never truly understand what goes in to making everything happen," Beasley said. "Being part of the organization of the conference, even if just the competition, has been an eye opening experience."
McKinley agreed that the stress has been worth it.
"Just planning a huge competition within 6 weeks has been a huge challenge," she said, "but we have learned a lot and know how and what to do different if this is to continue for years to come."
Indeed, the team is eager to see the competition grow in the near future.
"I want to see how big we can make this," Walker said.
The opportunities for networking as the group of seniors look toward their own futures has also been an important part of the experience, something they hope other students benefit from as well.
"I am hoping that the attendees see what a great networking opportunity this is and have fun," Walker said.
Students interested in competing in the Carolina Regional Technology Competition can register online, and the event will run from Oct. 17-18 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.