45 Years of Impact: Mark Douglass

Mark Douglass, an electrical engineering student at Texas A&M, spent his summer with VolunteerNow as an Information Technology intern, bringing his knowledge of systems and testing to the workplace.

He volunteered 40 hours each week as an integral part of VolunteerNow’s dedicated IT team. Douglass’ focus was on VOLY.org and its capabilities. He learned Selenium, software that allows users to design automated test routines to make sure websites and platforms run smoothly as changes are made. As VolunteerNow grows its proprietary technology, VOLY.org, proper testing is essential.

Douglass also supported more than 75 nonprofits at VolunteerNow’s third annual Voly in the Park held at Klyde Warren Park.

“My favorite assignment was preparing the laptops and tablets for our agency partners to use at Voly in the Park,” Douglass said. “I had to set up and keep 75 computers going so our partners could sign up new volunteers using VOLY.org. Over 5,000 people came through the park that day and were introduced to our work with volunteers.”

Douglass’ internship aligned with an exciting and innovating time at VolunteerNow – Dallas ISD officially partnered with VOLY.org as its sole volunteer recruitment and management tool for thousands of district volunteers. Douglass entered all 237 campuses into VOLY.org, which is now populated with more than 10,000 volunteers for Dallas ISD.

While his work and impact on VolunteerNow are immeasurable, the experience will be long-lasting for Douglass as well. He learned how to program Selenium, HTML coding and how to install RAM into laptops. One of his favorite perks, however, was VolunteerNow’s proximity to one of Dallas’ most vibrant neighborhoods – Deep Ellum.

“Even though I’ve lived in the Dallas area my entire life, I got to know the city much better this summer,” Douglass said. “Maybe when I graduate with my electrical engineering degree, I’ll work at a tech company in Deep Ellum. After all, Mark Cuban did start one of his companies here. It was a great summer, and I look forward to watching VOLY.org grow.”