BSG is a big reason why Steven Vo came to OSU. “It was one of the major selling points,” he says, and it hasn’t disappointed. A junior now, Vo has worked in BSG’s interoperability lab since the second term of his freshman year, and “the entire experience has been great,” he says.
“When I came to BSG, I had minimal networking skills,” Vo says. Before college he had interned at a small company, but his early stabs at being an IT professional “didn’t work out too well,” he laughs. “I was the IT intern — I didn’t really know what to do, but I was probably the most technological person there.” After two years at BSG, he says, “I have a better understanding of what to do, and what somebody in my field might do.”
In the interoperability lab, BSG student workers test different brands and kinds of networking equipment, “making sure that they interact well with each other,” Vo says. “We also test BSG-developed software, making sure all the features are working.” Vo has become adept with different types of switches and cable, and has become the go-to student tester when it comes to fiber optics. “I’ve sort of expanded,” he says.
Vo has also enjoyed hanging out with other BSG students, both in and outside of his lab. “It’s good to have interaction,” he says. “It’s kind of nice to mix between the labs.” After all, students are the center of the enterprise. “BSG, as business-focused as it is, it’s also designed for students,” he says. “It is an internship, and we learn a lot about whatever respective lab we go into. And even then, we can transfer between labs and learn more.”
