In 2016, Danica Lohja was one of the first City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) graduates to participate in an innovative program at Accenture, where she gained and utilized valuable skills in information technology (IT). After successfully completing the one-year program, she and three other former interns are now full-time Accenture employees. Accenture has also hired eight new interns, doubling the size of its original City Colleges internship cohort.

Accenture extended full-time employment offers to four participants in its internship program, all four of whom are graduates of Wright College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago, and the Center of Excellence in information technology education. After completing the one-year internship, they have accepted full-time positions in Accenture’s IT department located in downtown Chicago—Danica as an ecosystem product and services analyst, two of her colleagues as software engineering analysts and one as a software engineering associate.

Through the relationship with CCC, Accenture provides City Colleges graduates with rotational internships within its internal technology team. These paid internships are designed to help students learn and implement a variety of IT solutions within the company’s dynamic global business environment. The internship program expanded in 2017 – with eight CCC graduates starting the program this summer, all from Wright College.

Rigoberto Velazquez recently transitioned from his internship to a full-time position as a Software Engineering Analyst with Accenture. “When I first decided I would pursue IT as a career, I felt it would be a long uphill battle. When I received this internship, I was beside myself with gratitude. Wright College has leveraged their relationship with a great company and provided me with an opportunity to start my career on a solid foundation,” Rigoberto said.

Wilbur Wright College is City Colleges’ Center of Excellence for IT, offering several associate degree and certificate programs in disciplines that include computer science, networking systems and technology, web development and more, as well as a full complement of associate degree programs leading to transfer and employment. City Colleges students may begin their IT studies at any of the seven City Colleges. For more information about City Colleges of Chicago, call (773) COLLEGE or visit www.ccc.edu.