Students Gain Access to Cutting-Edge Technology

By Mark Hoerrner

Remember when high schoolers’ options for summer jobs encompassed the thrilling minimum-wage worlds of flipping burgers or child-herding as a camp counselor? Thanks to a program brought to campuses by computer department faculty members, students will have the chance to make not only some real money but also add an impressive line to their resume.

Yemi Nsah, a former Oracle consultant and computer teacher at North Cobb Christian School in Acworth, Ga. has implemented a program that allows students to learn database design and administration.

British-born Nsah spent nearly two decades as a systems architect before coming to NCCS. She worked primarily with partners of the Oracle Corporation, famous for its highly competitive computer database products. After more than 12 years working in London solving complex information technology problems for corporate clients, she and her family of then four and soon-to-be five headed for the United States. When she arrived at NCCS in 2001, she found a number of ways she could assist the school.

"At the time, there weren’t a lot of classes on computers," she said. "Just a couple that taught the Microsoft Office products and some basic HTML for web pages."

Before long, Nsah had put together curricula for more in-depth courses, working off the theory that a young person who is considering a career in information technology should have a solid background in computer science during his or her high school career. Drawing on her own education background—which consists of a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, a post-graduate diploma in computer science, a master’s degree in business administration and a recently-earned master’s degree in information systems from Kennesaw State University, she made recommendation after recommendation for improving the computer curriculum at NCCS. She soon implemented several classes in web design and programming and then turned her sights on databases.

"This really completes the training," she said. "When a student can design a web site, program it to make it functional and add a database to organize and store information, they have the complete package."

Innovation, however, comes with a price tag. The cost for the program is approximately $130,000 but thanks to two grants from Oracle, the program only cost NCCS the bargain basement rate of $1,000. It’s worth noting that Oracle extends the additional grant to only five schools in the nation annually, but that all types of schools, including middle schools, can apply.

But the program didn’t just happen overnight. Nsah contacted a number of people at the Oracle Corporation via email, asking repeatedly if the company had any discount programs for students. Several months passed; finally she struck gold when someone from the Oracle Academy responded that the company had a program tailored for high school students.

The program teaches students, with Nsah as facilitator, the basics of database design, tuning and development. The two-semester program allows students to get the basics of data modeling the first semester and then enables them to create a full database program in the second semester. Far from simple academic work, the data models and database will be put in place to solve a real-world corporate computing issue.

"This is really the final class for students," she said. "They don’t get a chance to take the class unless they have been through several others. I require that they have a solid foundation in programming before they will be allowed to take the class."

The innovation doesn’t stop with the acclaimed Oracle Academy. Nsah and her colleagues are looking into additional programs, such as a networking track, to give NCCS students a competitive edge over their public and private school peers. While NCCS will never be a technical or vocational school, these programs may not only lead to more lucrative part- or full-time jobs but also create unique lines on a students’ college prep resume giving them an edge in the college recruitment process.

Students taking the class with Nsah will be put through the "Oracle Academy," and upon graduation from the program, may take the first of four tests that will eventually lead to certification as an Oracle Certified Database Administrator. Entry-level DBAs in the corporate sector command anywhere from $30,000-$50,000 annually, so the prospect of summer employment at a rate of $15-20 per hour is possible—a long way from the summer jobs of the past.