Balboa Park Online Collaborative Blog

BPOC is happy to announce that Mitchel McCullough, technical services intern, has been hired as a Help Desk technician at the Midway Museum. Mitchel entered BPOC’s From Convoys to Computers IT training program in August 2011 after completing five years as an Intelligence Specialist in the Marine Corps. Mitchel has been working as an intern on numerous projects with museums and technology infrastructure throughout Balboa Park.

The Convoys to Computers program was designed to assist young veterans interested in beginning IT careers as they transition into civilian life. While California’s current unemployment rate is just under 9%, the unemployment rate for returning service members under the age of 24 is 34%.

BPOC engages the interns in technology-focused training and projects such as computer networking, server engineering, and video editing. In its pilot year, the Convoys to Computers program achieved an 85% success rate. BPOC's program design emphasizes hands-on practical experience.  Employers consistently state that experience is the most important characteristic they are looking for in a job candidate. BPOC’s network and systems provide multiple platforms and scenarios in which interns can apply their IT training.

Mitchel credits the opportunity to work with experts from every aspect of IT at BPOC and the hands-on experience for accelerating his skill level and employability. Mitchel strove for complete customer...

Our parkwide cellphone adventure Giskin Anomaly is featured in the May 2012 issue of Sunset Magazine. We've had 9997 calls into the Giskin phone system so we anticipate that this mention will put us over 10,000 calls. 

Haven't played yet?

You have a few more months to get your game on. Look for the first marker near The Old Globe box office. You don't need any kind of smartphone to play; any regular cellphone will do. Learn more at www.giskin.org.