August 1, 2024 – A Huge Thank You to Computer Reach’s Summer Intern Sonny Thomas!

Written by: Sonny Thomas

Edited & Contributions: Sarah Radcliffe

This summer, Washington County Digital Navigator Sarah Radcliffe, with the help of Computer Reach’s incredible partner Southwest Training Services, was able to teach and train an intern for 6 weeks. James (Sonny) Thomas III is a student at Washington & Jefferson College (Sarah’s alma mater). He’s been working remotely out of a cubicle Computer Reach is renting for his time from the Ignite Business Incubator that also runs out of W&J and is another really wonderful partner here in Washington County.

Computer Reach wants to thank Southwest Training Services, Ignite, and Washington & Jefferson for assisting in not only providing the Washington County DN program with a wonderful, productive, newly certified DN intern, but also for being such great partners and making the Washington County Project so successful. Partnerships are the foundation of the Digital Navigator program, we wouldn’t be able to serve our end users without them.

Sonny’s main project this summer was working with an end user from Ignite, Ronald Garrett, who is going through Ignite’s Ideas 2 Enterprise program. His plan is to create his own outdoor/indoor painting company he’s calling ‘Eugene’s Palette.’ Sonny has led some of his training sessions and has helped Sarah conduct research and compile resources to try and help Ronald win this season’s I2E cohort ‘Business Pitch Night’, where he can win money towards starting his small business. Through this internship he has been empowering Ronald to start his business, through digital skills training and Ronald’s own free personal computer provided by Washington County’s DN program, he’s being trained not only to start this business, but to continue it and to do all the technological work for it on his own. Through Ignite’s program and with the help of the training, Sonny & Sarah’s goal is to empower and diversify Washington’s economy and help out the people in our own backyard.

Here is some information from Sonny in his own words about himself and the experience he’s had with Computer Reach as a Digital Navigator Intern:

I grew up in Monessen right on the border of Washington County and graduated from Monessen Senior High School in 2021. My family and friends have deep roots in Monessen so having a job giving back to my community and the surrounding areas has been very fulfilling. Currently I am going into my Senior year at W&J, working on finishing my degrees in Economics and Communications. Outside of School I am a server at The Back Porch Restaurant. When I have free time I enjoy biking and playing basketball with friends. Prior to becoming an intern I was unsure of my post college plans but with my degrees I looked into market research, banking, and other financial areas. Through Computer Reach I was informed of other opportunities such as jobs in the non-profit space and remote options.

During this summer internship at Computer Reach I learned essential workplace skill sets that will benefit me upon graduation and in my future work.

During Week 1 I got certified to be a Digital Navigator through Computer Reach’s new DN training curriculum. I went through the 15 modules they put together and passed all the tests to become certified before I was able to assist in serving the program’s end users. During my training I got experience with a number of CRM like platforms such as Hubspot, Salesforce and Aircall. That week Sarah was also preparing for a webinar she did with the Appalachian Regional Commission and I assisted her in prepping, practicing and doing research for that event.

During Week 2, I underwent Bench Training, where I learned how to service computers on a base level along with Computer reach specific warehouse practices. I also attended a business bootcamp, where a group of diverse panelists provided a solid foundation of advice for my professional development. I conducted thorough research on key resources such as the Computer Reach website, NDIA website, Appalachian Regional Commission, and the PA Digital Equity Act, where I became more familiarized with the non profit space and these specific group’s commitment to digital equity initiatives.

During Week 3, I planned for an important meeting with an end-user by researching essential topics. This research enabled me to help with developing this particular end-user with basic skills in Canva, email etiquette, public speaking, and Google Sheets/Docs, ensuring they were well-prepared to utilize these applications for personal use, as well as a business pitch. Additionally, I made some preparations for a digital navigator presentation to a potential new partner.

During Week 4, I attended the Greene County digital navigator presentation, where I gained valuable insights on presenting in a business setting. I provided technical support when helping set up the presentation. Additionally I co-led a training session with an end user, where I presented my research on different applications and answered any questions before scheduling a follow up meeting. Furthermore, I sat in on a meeting with a potential partner, learning conversation tactics and presentation skills.

During Week 5, I continued to prepare for a second meeting with the end-user. I expanded my research to Google Drive and Google Suites basic skills. We also spent a lot of time preparing for my transition out of the internship and into my senior year and eventually a full time job by updating my Resume, working on this article and updating my linkedin to take steps towards whatever comes next for me.

Overall, I learned alot this summer that will help me greatly in my professional career from researching a multitude of applications for professional use, to learning how to conduct myself in business interactions but I was also given a platform to involve myself in my community and help the more vulnerable people in it. Throughout the duration of my time at Computer Reach there were certainly times of challenge entering into new spaces but immense self-satisfaction with the learning outcomes I received and the connections I have made. I got an inside look at what it takes to run a program out of a nonprofit and what it takes to serve underserved populations, while there are a lot of trials, tribulations and setbacks, ultimately the work being done is well worth it for the impact I feel we’ve had on the community. It’s exciting to be able to have a hand in making Washington County a better place for the people currently living here and for the future.

Sonny was an invaluable resource this summer, especially as Sarah transitioned into the Lead Trainer position on top of Digital Navigation, having the extra help made this summer run a lot smoother.

Computer Reach would like to again thank Ignite Business Incubator for providing Sonny with the space for his remote position. The work happening at Ignite is truly incredible, we encourage everyone at W&J & in Washington County to check out their services. We want to thank Southwest Training Services for not only providing us with Sonny, but choosing him specifically for the job and paying him to help out local nonprofits like ours who can’t otherwise afford to have this kind of short term help. We’d like to thank Washington & Jefferson College for creating the Ignite business incubator and for being the school that both Sarah & Sonny would obtain their degrees from.

Finally we’d like to thank Sonny for being an incredible help to Sarah this summer and hopefully a path has been created for him here to continue doing great work for himself and the people of Southwestern PA.