Front (left to right): Andrew Shaffer (2005) and Brent Bolton (2001). Back (left to right): Andrew Stohrer (2004) and Josh Vanderwalker (2003).

Taylor Grads Find their I.T. Niche at Chick-fil-A Headquarters

"Taylor stacks up with any other school where Chick-fil-A recruits" -- Andrew Stoher, 2004

The corporate offices of Chick-fil-A, Inc. , located in Atlanta, Georgia, employs over 80 full-time employees in information technology. Four of those employees are Computer Science/Systems graduates from Taylor (see photo at right). And Chick-fil-A would like to hire a few more just like them.

Employees Josh Vanderwalker (2003), Andrew Stoher (2004), Andrew Shaffer (2005), and Brent Bolton (2001) traveled to Upland in October to recruit student interns and employees. They also met with CSE faculty to explore the possibility of sponsoring classroom projects that relate to the computing needs of the company. "Andrew Stohrer and I are software developers", said Vanderwalker. "We provide technical programming and systems design for the type of software that is used by our human resources group, including online job applications, data entry, and payroll".

"Our role includes not only making something work technically, but also understanding the business role and applying it". -- Andrew Stohrer, 2004

All four graduates agreed that their Taylor education has served them well at Chick-fil-A. "Taylor stacks up with any other school where Chick-fil-A recruits", said Stohrer.

"At Taylor, you learn how to learn" -- Andrew Shaffer, 2005

According to Vanderwalker, the team from Taylor was able to learn quickly at Chick-fil-A due to the number of programing languages they worked with while at Taylor. "At Taylor, you learn how to learn", said Shaffer.

The four graduates were asked which courses were especially helpful to them during their studies at Taylor. They were also asked to comment how the Systems component of their Computer Science/Systems background has helped them adapt to their Chick-fil-A environment. Stohrer highlighted his Data Structures course. "Everything I have to work with, I have seen before". In responding to his background in the Systems component of his major, Stohrer responded that "...we work with design, requirements gathering, testing, development, people interaction, presentation, team dynamics. Our role includes not only making something work technically, but also understanding the business role and applying it". Vanderwalker agreed and commented that their work at Chick-fil-A required "...a wholistic approach, especially in design and requirements gathering".

"There is nothing like having a real world project where you have to work with a group of people from start to finish" -- Andrew Shaffer, 2005

Bolton highlighted his Interactive Application Development course. "We were exposed to a lot of different applications and a lot of different languages". Shaffer highlighted his Information Systems and Design course. "There is nothing like having a real world project where you have to work with a group of people from start to finish", he said in reference to the group project requirements of his course.

The team plans to be back during the current academic year to continue in their recruiting efforts. They continue to be pleased with the quality educational background that Taylor has to offer.