Yahoo! provides aid for UW-Oshkosh students

by Jacquelyn Ryberg

Monday, September 8, 2008 00:00

The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh will offer twenty positions to students this fall at a newly established Yahoo! CareCenter, which could mean nearly $10,000 per year for each student in compensation to help pay for books, fees, and tuition expenses.

According to Steve Romme, interim director for the center for community partnerships, students working at the center will have flexible hours, but will also be expected to work at least 15 hours per week. Work tasks will mainly include answering information technology questions for Yahoo! Employees. However, students will not be required to have a computer-related background. 

“We are looking for a broad variety of students. They need to be somewhat proficient with technology like Microsoft and Office products,” Romme said. “But, the most important thing is they need to solve problems for people. Yahoo! is willing to train students on the technical aspects.”

Adam Kostrzak, UW-Oshkosh alumnus and senior manager of Yahoo!’s global service desk, the idea for the center stemmed from a combination of factors, including an already successful internship program in Sunnyvale, California and experience with an FBI support program at Louisiana State University. 

“Those two things gave me the idea to look for a university to partner with in a region with a lower cost of living and strong academic standards,” Kostrzak said in an email. “We eventually focused our search on the Midwest.  After talking with numerous universities, Oshkosh and the Center for Community Partnerships stood out because of the uniqueness of the program they offer.”

According to Guri Sohi, professor and former chair of the University of Wisconsin-Madison computer science department, many companies establish similar centers on campuses throughout the nation to act as ambassadors between the company and the university. While the university has many active relationships with Yahoo!, they have nothing like the center at UW-Oshkosh.

Kostrzak said many other universities were contacted in the decision-making process, but UW was not because so many other options were already available. Additionally, the strong relationship between CCP and UW-Oshkosh allowed for a smooth contract process to provide space for operations as well as recruiting efforts to find the most desirable students.

“No other school could provide Yahoo! with space as needed and contractually agree to provide us with enough student candidates to fill our needs,” Kostrzak said. “We saw this partnership between the CCP and Oshkosh as one of the deciding factors to pursue this opportunity with them.”

According to Romme, UW-Oshkosh was able to bridge gaps between the public limitations of a state university and the private needs of a business enterprise that other universities were unable to accomplish.

Kostrzak added there are currently no future plans to establish additional centers at other universities — including UW.  

The benefits of the center will aid students in establishing a professional business background before entering the “real world,” Kostrzak said.

“The students are getting an opportunity to work for a large hi-tech corporation before graduation,” Kostrzak said. “They will have a unique perspective of the working world that will hopefully challenge and inspire them.”