“Going to the Board of Water & Light and Sparrow and finding jobs there, especially Sparrow where it makes a difference — that’s the highlight of the whole thing,” he said.

Healey was one of 26 students who toured Lansing companies interested in hiring IT workers. MSU Career Services, Capital Area Michigan Works and the Capital Area IT Council hosted the event in effort to connect MSU students with the Lansing job market.

The students visited IT departments at the Lansing Board of Water & Light, Sparrow Health System, Vision Creative and Spartan Internet Consulting Corp. to see some of the jobs that are available downtown.

“It’s an excellent idea,” said Kathleen Smith, the Information Services Director at Sparrow Health System. “It will expose the students to a lot of technologies that are available in Mid-Michigan. To know that they can get employment right here is a good thing for them and for the community, and for Sparrow.

“We have a lot of technology here and we need a lot of staff to be able to support the technology on a day-to-day basis.”

Some of the students enjoyed the chance to get downtown.

“You don’t get exposed to Lansing as a student at Michigan State,” said Dan Stoller, a general management junior who has an IT specialization. “It showed me more about the city.”

The tour also made stops at downtown lofts before ending the night at The Firm Food & Spirits, 227 S. Washington Square, in Lansing.

“It’s a really good way to expose kids who live on the other side of (U.S.) 127 that have no idea that downtown Lansing exists or has things happening, places to go, places to work, things you can infuse yourself with like you can in any big city,” said Camron Gnass, the owner of Vision Creative, a marketing company that has worked with BD’s Mongolian Barbeque and Beaner’s Coffee.

The downtown tour was the first of three tours scheduled for this school year. The Capital Area IT Council and Capital Area Michigan Works will tour Okemos in January and Old Town Lansing in March.

“This tour was focused on the Michigan Avenue corridor, and to show a job doesn’t have to be at an IT company,” said Kate Tykocki, the marketing and public relations director for Capital Area Michigan Works. “We wanted to show some diversity.”

Tykocki said the Okemos tour will be more focused on IT companies.

“That’s where the computer companies in the area are moving,” Tykocki said.