Bo Deng

At the workplace, the hours drag on. Meetings are a staple of working here. So are the team projects where coworkers depend on each other for help. Not so ordinary is the high schooler shadowing them around.

Senior Bo Deng spent Feb. 19-22 shadowing at Acxiom, a software and data company that offers services to a variety of different industries. Deng’s experience was part of COOL week, a work-based program that LISD offers to seniors.

“I thought it was a really great experience,” Deng said. “Getting to see what people actually do on a daily basis is a lot more helpful than being told what people do because you can experience it for yourself. It was definitely an experience that helped me figure out what I’m going to be doing in the future.”

Deng is planning to pursue a software career after college. He enjoyed COOL week and said he wouldn’t change anything.

“[This experience] showed me how companies make software,” he said. “I was able to see the process of how people work together to make things happen, and I thought it was really cool.”

In addition to learning about the software industry, he also learned about the workplace in general.

“No matter what company you end up working at, you’re going to have lots of meetings,” Deng said. “They aren’t a lot of fun, but that’s just how it is. Also, a lot of the time you’ll be working with people from different areas. It’s not like ‘here’s a task, you figure it out.’ Everyone’s working together and asking experts in other fields for help if they need it.”

Deng said he wouldn’t change anything about his participation in COOL week. He noted the importance of Acxiom’s size to his positive experience.

“I felt they were the right size [for me],” he said. “They’re big enough that they have lots of resources but they’re small enough that within the company, you can find a small team to work with on a specific project. They’re really efficient at getting things done.”

Deng recommends future seniors apply to take part in COOL week. He highlights the importance of going into the experience with a positive mind set.

“I think COOL week in general is a great experience for seniors,” he said. “[You have] to into it with an open mind because if you don’t have a positive attitude about it then you’re not going to get anything out of it. You need to be patient, there are times when you feel like you’re not doing anything, but you need to make the most of the week and really try to learn from it.”