Name: Ashley Copenhaver
Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Google
Position Title: Engineering Practicum Intern
Major(s)/Minor(s):Mathematics & Biology/Computer Science
Work Term:Summer 2017
Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.
As an Engineering Practicum Intern, I worked on the Search UI Infrastructure Team alongside full time software engineers in Chicago. One other intern was my designated partner for the summer, so we worked collaboratively on a project which involved creating an experiment, designing a dashboard for our results, and learning new programming languages such as JavaScript, SQL, and Go. While my partner and I did a majority of the work independently to maximize our time spent in the office, we pair-programmed for the more challenging aspects of the project. Weekly meetings with various engineers around the world kept us up to date with how our project should be functioning.
Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?
I first heard about this position through my participation in an earlier Google program called the Computer Science Summer Institute, but it was not until I had begun my first computer science course here at UMBC that I really decided to pursue this position. The introductory computer science course gave me a background that made me feel confident enough to actually apply. I submitted my application in November, and as I progressed through the interviews and site placement, I set up appointments in the Career Center to give my resume a facelift. By February, after going through the whole application and interview process, I had been offered the position of Engineering Practicum Intern for the summer.
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization?
This experience enabled me to network with people around the world and build relationships that will last a lifetime. In addition to the great support I had throughout the whole internship, I loved learning new things every single day. At any point throughout the day, I could ask any other engineer in the office a question and get a genuine answer, resulting in a massive increase in my computer science knowledge throughout the summer.
How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?
Google's mission statement from 1998 is "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." Through hours upon hours of collaborative meetings with other engineers around the world, I believe that I have certainly made a positive impact on the organization of the world's information.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
Whenever you get the opportunity to attend a networking event, you should take that opportunity because you never know when the person you meet is going to become your manager. In addition, remember that you will miss 100% of the shots you don't take. So if you are interested in getting involved in internships or other experiences, actually apply for those experiences even if you think it is a long shot because you may be exactly what the organization is looking for in an applicant -- just stay true to yourself.
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