Amid IT Job Drought, BroadSpire Invests in the Future with Fulfillment Fund Internship Program for Disadvantaged Students [30 July 2003]

LOS ANGELES, Jul 30, 2003 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Those seeking careers in information technology who only a few years ago could write their own ticket are now finding would-be employers with few chits to pass out. While analysts caution that it could take up to a year for the IT job market to return to positive territory, joblessness among IT pros has only recently begun to inch down from a high of 6.5 percent earlier this past spring.

But like everything else, progress happens one person at a time. And that is why recent grads like Igor Vaysbeyn need an edge.

Two summers ago, Igor, then a senior at UCLA, got that edge, thanks to the Fulfillment Fund and an internship program for BroadSpire (www.broadspire.com), a leader in managed IT services.

In an effort to empower disadvantaged youth as they look to develop career goals and achieve greater self-confidence, Suresh Srinivasan, BroadSpire president and co-founder, has teamed up with the Fulfillment Fund to provide internships for deserving students, Vaysbeyn among them.

For Srinivasan, it's the most natural impulse imaginable. A Fulfillment Fund alumnus himself, he graduated from Hollywood High School and later Stanford University before co-founding BroadSpire.

The largest private provider of college scholarships in California, the Fulfillment Fund -- a nonprofit organization comprised of more than 1,000 adult volunteers who each year serve as mentors for 2,500 bright, disadvantaged or disabled students -- motivates young people to complete school, broaden their socioeconomic horizons, and facilitate their higher education through one-on-one mentoring, classroom-based outreach, scholarships, internships and college and career counseling.

"In the information technology business, we dedicate ourselves to building communities -- even if they are virtual," said Srinivasan. "There is nothing greater than being able to help educate the community in which you grew up. Our program with the Fulfillment Fund is about encouraging students to become their best, in part by showing them what we've accomplished and how we started just the same way they did. I want kids to know there are people just like them who have faced the same challenges and overcome various obstacles en route to fulfilling their dreams."

The BroadSpire internship program offered Vaysbeyn on-the-job technical and professional skills training, including intensive hands-on exposure to computer hardware and business application software, phone and office etiquette, Internet research, and resume writing. Throughout the experience, Srinivasan served as mentor and role model.

"From the very first day at BroadSpire, I learned concepts specific to the web hosting industry, from servers and networks to Internet service providers," Vaysbeyn said. "At the same time, I also learned about new marketing strategies effective in the high tech sector. Suresh and everyone at BroadSpire encouraged me to spend time acquainting myself with various technologies and markets beneficial to both the company and my own future. I'm happy to say that I made progress in my internship."

After graduating from UCLA, Vaysbeyn joined Mellon Financial Corporation as a portfolio accountant. "Knowing what I do about web hosting and outsourcing services, I can now inquire about whether it is feasible for Mellon to outsource," he said.

In addition, Vaysbeyn recently started his own real estate company, specializing in residential sales and mortgages, he's studying for his certification as a Chartered Financial Analyst, and he's thinking of pursuing an MBA. "Today, most business is done online and depends on the efficiency of Internet," he said. "Having learned about the web infrastructure business makes me comfortable in working for a technologically advanced financial giant, and makes me just as comfortable starting my own business venture that will likely require Internet exposure."

BroadSpire provides business-critical IT outsourcing services with a focus on data warehousing, web hosting, and IT and network operations, enabling organizations to improve their overall efficiency. BroadSpire has earned the trust of some of the world's best-known companies, including NBC, Sheraton Hotels, K-Mart, Paramount Pictures, Symantec Corporation, and many cutting-edge eBusinesses. BroadSpire formalized its internship program as part of an ongoing effort to empower people and communities in achieving a better future through technology.

"We strongly believe in supporting the development of tomorrow's work force," said Srinivasan. "Our mission is to provide hard-working students with opportunities to realize their full potential. Our relationship with the Fulfillment Fund and this internship program are exciting steps toward realizing this mission, which fits into a larger company focus on community outreach."

"For the majority of our students, many of whom are first in their families to attend college, there is a tremendous lack of resources and opportunities," said Mireya Saldana, of the Fulfillment Fund. "However, with the help of the Fulfillment Fund and community members like Suresh, many youth can now achieve their goals. We are extremely grateful to organizations like BroadSpire for exposing students to cultural and educational experiences that improve their access to opportunities beyond their current reach."

According to Fulfillment Fund data, mentoring has been proven to work. Those who are mentored are 46 percent less likely to use drugs, 33 percent less likely to be involved in interpersonal conflicts, and are more confident in their schoolwork.

"We are happy to be able to help bright students like Igor realize their full potential by achieving success through experience, education and employment," Srinivasan said.

"I cannot say enough about how much having a mentor meant to me," Vaysbeyn said. "I learned a lot from Suresh, and one day I would like to be a mentor and positively influence a student's life like my mentor influenced mine."

SOURCE: BroadSpire

Edge Communications, Inc.
Ken Greenberg, 818-719-9292
ken@edgepress.com