One of the most gratifying things Julie Oster can hear is a respected company saying that they want to hire a graduate of Apex High School's Academy of Information Technology. She is hearing those words more often as the school's program gains industry mentors and successful graduates.

For her work leading the academy, Oster won the Janet Linton Leadership award this summer. As leader of the academy and Career Academy Coordinator, Oster heads up a "school within a school," a program with an application process and graduation requirements of at least four computer classes and an internship.

The Apex High program began in 2001, and Oster took the helm in January 2006. Students from each rising freshman class can apply, and a lottery process fills the 90 spots available.

This past year, Oster had 200 applications for the popular program. Currently 334 students in all four grade levels are enrolled.

Q: How is the academy structured?

A: It is a smaller learning community.

For example, our 90 ninth-graders take the same English, social studies and science classes. Math is more diverse, and electives are not taken together. But the teachers of the core classes work together to create projects that are multi-disciplinary and involve technology. We have great teachers who are very loyal to the program.

Q: Why do you think your program has been so successful?

A: What we keep hearing consistently from companies is that our students have excellent "soft skills," the 21st-century skills we keep hearing about.

Our students learn to communicate well both verbally and written, work well as a team and present themselves well. We won't be able to keep up with every new program that comes out, but industry insiders say they can train employees on technology. They're more impressed by the ability to learn quickly and deliver on soft skills.

Q: You have some mentors who graduated from the academy a few years ago who are now working in the industry. How does that make you feel?

A: It is the greatest thing we can hear.

It is very validating that we hear we're doing the right thing. The academy is developing a network for those alumni. Many companies now want to hire students who have been through the program. We have one alumnus from NetApp who has joined our advisory board. It's wonderful.

Q: Do students who apply to the program need to know which career they want to target?

A: Some students come into the program knowing what they want to do.

They don't always end up with what they started with. The great thing is that IT skills will help no matter what you go into. We want them to get experience in industry. They might take internships in doctors' offices or create a website for a landscaping business. Technology is the common denominator.

Q: What are your goals for the academy for the next five years?

A: It's getting hard to keep up [with the changes in technology]. We definitely want to stay on top. We are working on partnerships with businesses. Employees from IBM, SAS and EMC are on our advisory board. And LORD Corporation, NetApp, American Airlines, RTI, PPD, Lenovo, Fidelity's IT department, Wake Tech, N.C. State and many local businesses are helping us with internships, equipment and expertise.

Students are learning to write mobile apps. And we are definitely looking at things we can do to make sure students get the skills they need. We know our students know how to learn; they are true digital natives.