Hi! I'm Chas Pennington, a senior at the University of Texas at Dallas, majoring in Information Technology Systems. I was born in Plano, but was raised in Garland, Texas.I was first introduced to the business world through my family’s small business. I grew up going there when we couldn’t find a babysitter, and eventually started working for them from time-to-time around the time I was 15. Since then, I’ve been able to see what it’s like to run a business, whether it was doing inventory correction, ordering, and buying stock, or writing checks for employees. This led to me taking on a manager role at the shop, and with my parents help, I learned a lot about what it means to run a shop not only as a manager, but as the owner/operator. Growing up I grew a real passion for technology. When possible, I would integrate it into my life, whether that was for school or my personal time. This originally led me to pursue a computer engineering degree. However, through various connections I came across ITS: a field where I could combine my business knowledge and passion for technology, a match made in heaven. Ever since, I've been excited to get into the working world, and am open to internships as soon as possible. I am grateful to be able to attend a school as great as UTD, where I can feel confident in my education and make lasting connections. I am also incredibly thankful to be a current Academic Excellence Scholarship recipient, which has made pursuing higher education possible, and has incentivized me to pursue a master’s after I complete my bachelor’s.