Al Carroll, the University Acquisition senior manager for TechPoint, is creating impact via internships and lighting a path toward careers in technology through meaningful statewide engagement.
The requirement of Butler University students to experience two internships during undergrad is what originally attracted Al Carroll to Indianapolis. Carroll believed this would help him secure a job after graduation. Moving to Indiana was an adjustment for Carroll, who grew up in Titusville, Florida, near Cape Canaveral. Both of his parents worked for NASA.
“My parents and their friends put people into space,” said Carroll, noting that he witnessed real life excellence among all Black families growing up in that atmosphere. “As a kid, I knew that anything was possible and that we [African Americans] could make an impact.”
During his undergraduate years at Butler, Carroll served as student body president and was a student representative to Butler’s Board of Trustees. “I really enjoyed working with the administrators and the board,” states Carroll.
Carroll arrived on campus as a freshman at the right time: Butler went to the Final Four that year, and again a year later. Indianapolis hosted the Super Bowl, which in his first job out of college, Carroll worked as an IT auditor with PriceWaterhouseCooper (PWC) based in Indianapolis. He quickly realized that you don’t get any points for being a friendly auditor and discovered that he craved human interaction.
In a new role with PWC, Carroll led PWC’s professional framework across Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana. In this role, he mentored and facilitated programming to help new hires and interns bridge into upward mobility within the company. This professional development training fueled his desire to help others. It’s this particular bit of experience that truly prepared him for what he does now: create internships for college students.
As University Acquisition senior manager, or as Carroll prefers, “The Technology Evangelist” at TechPoint, he coordinates their outreach efforts to universities across Indiana to fuel an interest and awareness of the potential job opportunities in our state.
“Every student should study something they are interested in and makes you want to go to the back of the book,” said Carroll. Many students do not follow their passions or perhaps change the focus of their interests.
A component of his efforts is through TechPoint’s Jobs in Tech 101 program, through which Carroll is making an impact. The Jobs in Tech 101 workshop is designed to demystify the opportunities with careers in tech, illuminating a clear path to entry. The program explores the roles within tech companies and provides insight into the day-to-day job activities. From students in high school to college, and adults wishing to change their career — the Jobs in Tech 101 is one way Carroll’s team at TechPoint is bridging accessibility.
“So many enter into the tech workforce from nontraditional backgrounds. There are many career pathways that help someone totally change up and do something completely different,” adds Carroll, who is working to create more possibilities for careers in tech for people of color.
Carroll is a panelist of the inaugural Rooted Schools Black IN Tech Town Hall series powered by The Indianapolis Recorder at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 12. Also on the panel is Linda Calvin, vice president of IT with Ivy Tech Community College, and Dewand Neely, COO for Eleven Fifty Academy.
In addition to his role at TechPoint, Carroll serves as a trustee with the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership foundation and was recently nominated for Indy’s Best and Brightest in the nonprofit and education category. He is also an advisory board member for the IUPUI LiFT Scholars (Leading Informatics for Tomorrow) Program and The R.B. Annis School of Engineering at the University of Indianapolis.
