Name: Autumn Williams

Internship, Co-op, or Research Site: WILL Interactive

Position Title: Graphic Designer

Major or Program: Graphic Design BFA

Current Class Level: Senior

Work Term: Spring 2022

I have been formatting a digital comic book and working alongside the team to design software. I also am going to start working on their company branding. 

I was applying to 20+ jobs per week for a long time looking for a full time position. I thought it would be fun if I showed my style in my resume, so I updated it to have some color. Seeing as I am a Graphic Design major, I might as well show some of my design skills in the resume itself. A lot of the jobs I applied for told me that they really enjoyed my resume and that it stood out from others because it was unique. 

I love the people I work with at this company. Everyone is so nice and accommodating to me. Not only do I enjoy the work I do at my job, but they even let me bring my dog into the office on the days I have to work in-person. This is honestly the perfect job for me, and exactly on track with what I want to do as a career. 

I have only been here for a short time, so I have not made too many changes yet, but I hope to be a great asset to them by bringing all my knowledge that I have learned in my classes. My Professors Guenet and Peggy really helped prepare me for this and I am grateful that I had them. 

I know looking for a job can be hard especially when many of them are not responding back to your application... but don't give up! Towards the end of my job search I was feeling discouraged and almost settled for a job that was not in my field. I am so happy that I kept pushing because if I hadn't I would have never found this opportunity. 

Recently I have felt lucky, but now I realize that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have. 

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Name: Olisa Okolo

Internship, Co-op, or Research Site: Aptiv

Position Title: Data Science Intern

I am currently a junior and an Information Systems major.

My long term career goal is to become a data scientist and to explore applications of machine learning for social improvement. 

I feel that Aptiv represents an amalgamation of my enthusiasm for vehicles and technology. Aptiv's mission to enable a greener and more connected future of mobility immediately jumped out to me. It sounded like an opportunity to be a part of innovation I can always be proud of. 

My role at Aptiv is as a Data Science Intern at Aptiv Connected Services where I will be working with the data science department to apply machine learning techniques on diagnostic data from pre-production testing of new vehicle technologies. I'm hoping to learn what kind of data is considered to make improvements in performance and ecological impact.

Yes, Aptiv provides a very competitive housing stipend alongside a great pay. 

The application process was very welcoming. After submitting an application, there was a two step interview process, the second of which I met with my future team leader and he assessed my Python knowledge. Every step of the way, everybody I met was extremely helpful

Aptiv's internship is in person at their main office and testing facility. I am most looking forward to getting a front row seat to the pre production testing of new vehicle technologies and driver assistance systems. It feels like getting a sneak peek at some new tech. 

Name: Mohit Patil

Internship, Co-op, or Research Site: Aptiv

Position Title: Algorithm Developer Intern

 I am a graduate student at the CSEE Department. My major is Computer Science.

My short-term career goal is to explore a variety of areas and technologies in the field of Computer Science and work towards specializing in the area that I find intriguing. I'd love to establish myself as an expert in one specific field of Computer Science in the long term.

As I said, I want to explore a variety of areas in the field of Computer Science at this point in my career. The fact that this job opportunity at Aptiv offers exposure to a variety of areas really encouraged me to apply to this internship position at Aptiv. My prime responsibilities will be :

i) Algorithm development for Sensor Monitoring

ii) Design, integrate, test, and release software/algorithm to internal and external customers

iii) Algorithm validation and functional performance improvement in various environments

My job designation says "Algorithm Developer Intern". I will be working on the algorithm that enables an automated driving system. I will be working on the data that is gathered by the sensors that locate and steers the vehicle. I am hoping to learn the practical implementation of concepts such as State estimation, Kalman filters, data association and machine learning algorithms. Also, I will be getting hands-on experience with vehicle dynamics, numerical methods, and statistic methods.

Aptiv does pay you a generous amount as a relocation bonus. Although Aptiv does not help with finding housing for you, they can guide you to the appropriate listings for housing.

5. What was your application and interview process like? 

The application process was quite straightforward. You need to visit their careers page and search for the positions relevant to you. You need to enter the details and upload your resume.

If they find you to be a fit for the position, the recruiter reaches out to you to schedule an interview. 

The interview for me was a three-step interview process. My first two interviews were behavioral interviews. The purpose of these interviews is to help the employers understand how you have performed and behaved in the past in both positive and negative situations. They also make sure whether you are a cultural fit for the company. My last interview was a technical one. The interviewers were the team with which I would be working. I was asked technical questions corresponding to the job role and my past experience with the tech stack that they use.

I am looking forward to extracting as much knowledge as I can from my interning experience at Aptiv. Also, I am really excited about working in a team environment which would be a great experience altogether.

Learn more about our Featured Employer Partner: Aptiv - https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/careers/posts/116852

Name: Joe Fleming

Internship, Co-op, or Research Site: Northrop Grumman

Position Title: Quality Engineer

Major or Program: Mechanical engineering 

Current Class Level: Senior

Work Term: Summer 2020 and 2021

Mainly Inspection based and paperwork that is a low enough level for interns to be able to do.

I was able to obtain my internship from the BEYA STEM career fair and it was mainly a success due to the in person aspect that let me physically talk to them and gain that personal connection that is now tough to do.

Witnessing how the real engineering world works and how actual engineers handle their work and lives. It’s very interesting to see from the other side.

I always strived to do work and be better. My previous employers really loved how I always asked questions, didn’t act like I knew everything, and always wanted to do more.

Be able to talk to the recruiters and try to be able to have that social physical connection. Also be down to earth and willing to do things that you may not have at the top or your list.

When I had my Northrop interview, my interviewer loved that when he asked “what do you want to do?” I gave a list of things I wanted to do but also emphasized that I am not going to be picky as a student just trying to get my foot in the door. I knew once I got a chance I could show them what I do for the company as far as respect, communication, and quality work.

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BEYA Conference Information Session: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/careers/events/100032   

UMBC Connects: Northrop Grumman: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/careers/events/98595  

Name: Bhavika Chavda

Internship, Co-op, or Research Site: DataDistillr

Position Title: Data Science Intern 

Major or Program: Master of Professional Studies in Data Science

Current Class Level: Master's Student

Work Term: Summer 2021 - Fall 2021

Day to day tasks include data wrangling, data enrichment using a plethora of other platforms, data analysis, ML modeling and data visualization. I also work with the Sales and Marketing team to create data science related content for the platform to increase visibility and platform engagement.

I was studying DATA 604 under Prof. Charles Givre. He informed us of internship openings in his company i.e., DataDistillr. I applied for the position as soon as I heard of the opportunity. He conducted an interview and then I was hired. 

Everyone at my organization is super helpful and super smart. Everyday was a learning experience in itself while being fun all the while. 

Although I have much to learn, I feel I am able to find unique and valuable insights from data to help clients and charities find potential donors for fundraisers, marathons, peer-to-peer campaigns, dinners, etc. I was able to help make the world a better place by reaching out to those who would willingly take action to help make it better. 

Be willing to learn and do not shy away from experimenting. Keep a to-do list to keep track of your time and effort. Make sure to network within the organization by sending messages at intervals to keep in touch (Don't be nervous, no one bites. Just send messages to say hi, keep it simple). Ask for tasks to be done if you are not given any. Think of ways to contribute and start executing, don't wait.

I loved how considerate everyone that I contacted from the Career Center was. I liked the training they gave during the internship, it helped me navigate my way around the organization and also helped me be more assertive. The Career Center's constant reminders of the task completion helped me keep on track with my progress and complete the assignments on time. 

Being an international student, it was difficult for me to find an internship and for this reason, I am grateful that DataDistillr trusted in me. I have learned how to conduct data analysis and machine learning modeling while being able to conduct meetings with clients on a one-on-one basis. DataDistillr offered me a permanent position and I accepted the offer. I am grateful for the opportunity and look forward to growing in my career through DataDistillr.

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Name: Mahima Thakkar

Internship, Co-op, or Research Site: Reality Analytics Inc

Position Title: Data Science Intern

Major or Program: Master's of Professional Studies- Data Science

Class Level: Master's Student

Work Term: Spring 2021

Reality AI is an audio signal processing company that provides solutions to the clients using Artificial Intelligence and Tiny ML. Reality AI offers AI-driven technology to help you find the most cost-effective instrumentation, components, and placement - and to build, optimize and deploy ML models in your product’s firmware. 

In my journey at the company, I have assisted in collecting and curating the sound data that can be used to train the models on. After the data is in good shape and ready to go in the pipeline, I have trained models to classify or to perform anomaly detection. Along with being in the technical team, I have been in the customer success team and interacted with clients to know their expectations, deliver the results, assisting them in the future plans and strategies they could follow to meet the goal and discuss future steps. 

I applied to the position in mid-July through UMBCworks. I heard back from the company in mid-August, and the interview was scheduled.

Due to the type of work I do, I have to go to the office onsite. The most exciting thing is I get to meet the team members and my manager with whom I work closely. I enjoy a lot, to test the models in action and see how it actually performs. I enjoy this part of my work the most.

I have curated the data that is used by the automobile industry, health industry, personal and safety industry. The data I collect and segment goes in the ML conduit and helps in providing the best results. The solutions are used by various clients that in real life make use of it. This makes their life easier and smoother. 

My guidance to other aspiring students would be to build your network and communicate with more people. Work on your resume and seek help from the Career Center if needed. Look out for the positions available and modify your resume to the expectations of the position. Be prepared for an interview as the opportunity may come to your door anytime. 

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Name: Tejaswi Pandey

Internship, Co-op, or Research Site: Splunk

Position Title: Incident Response Intern

Major or Program: Information Systems Major, Economics Minor

Current Class Level: Senior

Work Term: Spring 2021 and Summer 2021 (Feb 8 to July 30, 2021)

Splunk's Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) advised me to learn as much as possible during my six-month internship so that my skills and goals align with the company's mission statement, ensuring I would become a promising candidate for potential hire. 

Coming from a nursing background, this conversation helped me overcome my imposter syndrome as many of my fellow interns came from Ivy League and top liberal arts universities worldwide with years of experience in the technology field. The manager assigned me two mentors who helped me to enhance my cybersecurity skills. 

 

My day usually started with CompTIA Security+ and Network+ e-learning. Then, I would meet with my Junior Mentor (Senior Analyst) to understand the materials in-depth. During the day, I attended team meetings, Womxn Employee Resource Group (ERG) sessions and shadowed members from various roles within the company. In between meetings, I did hands-on ethical hacking training. 

For a recent project, I built an AWS EC2 instance using an Apache HTTP server. I then installed network security tools to scan for possible vulnerabilities by analyzing a large quantity of logs. During ethical hacking, I collaborated with the Penetration team, actively monitoring network traffic in real-time, detecting active intrusion, and immediately mitigating compromises on the server. Later in the day, I would meet with my second mentor (Principal Analyst) providing project updates, and get feedback.  

A career development program called Year Up helped me obtain a CompTIA Security+ certificate and land a six-month internship at Splunk as an Incident Response and Digital Forensics Intern. At the end of my internship, I received two full-time job offers to start this Fall '21 semester. I am excited to share that I am continuing at Splunk as a full-time Cloud Operations Incident Commander while pursuing my bachelor's degree in Information Systems and minor in Economics at UMBC.

 

I pro-actively leveraged the following skills during my internship that led me to full-time conversion:

 

- Communication: I set up a weekly meeting with my team manager to build a professional relationship by updating projects and feedback and taking the initiative by proposing projects to the team. This allowed my manager to advocate for me to senior management during the conversion process and receive recommendations for future employment.

 

- Networking: I followed Instagram career influencers - Jonathan Javier and Jerry Lee (Wonsulting), Manny Duenas (The Career Doctor), and Emily Durham (Career Coach). I utilized these influencers' content to network with senior management. This allowed me to get insights on upcoming open roles and receive mentorship. I also attended the Women in Tech Conference, where the senior managerial members from FAANG companies and the former First Lady, Michelle Obama, attended as a keynote speaker. Platforms like these educated me to utilize proven strategies to climb the ladder in a heavily male-dominated industry. 

 

- Branding Myself: Being an Economics minor student, I started investing in stocks and cryptocurrency early in my 20's. I would start and end my day by reading the news and understanding the current economic market. At the internship, I usually initiated conversations about the latest cyber breach, inflation, and stocks during happy hours, which created a personal and professional barrier.

 

- Professionalism: I grew up in Prince George's County, Maryland. And that to me, professionalism was heavily about code-switching. I reflexively or subtly changed how I expressed myself at Splunk while staying true to myself and holding diversity in my team. I quickly adapted to the environment by resonating with one of Splunk's core values, "Open," so that I was not just trying to fit in, but instead, I was culturally compatible. 

It was a dream come true participating at my first Splunk Summer Hackathon in Product and Technology 2021. About 300 Splunk employees participated in the event, and my team made it to the Top 20 Finalists. Another full-time employee and I collaborated and built a “Multi-Cloud Billing Dashboard” using Splunk Cloud interactive Treemap visualization allowing project managers to compare cloud infra-cost and reduce the cost. Even though we only had two days to work on the project, I truly enjoyed jumpstarting new ideas, collaborative working style, and planning future works that can be completed asynchronously.

Growing up, I did not have many examples to look up to. As a first-generation student from a low-income background, it has been a significant growth opportunity for me to intern and now work as a full-time employee at Splunk. To promote diversity and inclusion, I shared my story in Splunk's intern feature, "Million data points" and "National Intern Day," to showcase that I bring great value to both minds and culture. I aspire to open the door for others from marginalized communities to break into their tech career and lead with courage and authenticity.

I switched my major from Pre-Nursing to Information Technology in my junior year of college. I had just started taking IT pre-requisite classes and actively applying for an internship. I received rejections from all internships I applied to due to a lack of prior technical experience. I would advise another student to take CompTIA certification for equivalent work experience and demonstrate their passion for technology by attending tech conferences and volunteering at middle school coding classes.

 Likewise, most companies offer apprenticeships for those who come from a non-traditional background and would like to breakthrough into a career in technology. Some programs are Google IT Apprenticeship and Residency Program, Microsoft Leap Apprenticeship, Capital One Cyber Program, Accenture Apprenticeship Program, Okta Accelerator Program, Year Up, and Per Scholas.

“It's the motivation that leveraged my passion for technology but it's the discipline that got me to the point I am at now.” -Tejaswi

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Name: Meghan Ceribo

Internship, Co-op, or Research Site: Dr. Mirela Cengher's Applied Behavior Analysis Lab

Position Title: Undergraduate Research Assistant

Major or Program: Psychology B.A

Current Class Level: Senior

Work Term: Spring 2021

I have been working with Dr. Cengher and colleagues since Summer 2020, and most of my responsibilities and expertise include literature reviews, data analyses, data collection and manuscript writing. Some of the main topics of interest include skill acquisition, teaching children how to ask informative questions, learning languages, addressing errors made while learning, and more. We are working on several literature reviews on these topics as well as planning for when we are able to experimentally utilize ethical procedures to understand the ways that children with disabilities learn. 

As a junior, I felt really behind because of my lack of research experience. I went through the faculty page to see who had undergraduate research positions available and sent emails to the professors I was interested in working with. I also read some of their works, and was genuinely intrigued by what they have accomplished and produced. Most of the labs I interviewed already had an application I had to fill out inquiring about the classes I have taken and what I know about the overarching topic of research that each lab focuses on. And now I'm here!

I really enjoy learning new things and sharing that knowledge with the rest of the lab. My lab colleagues and mentor are genuine friends and I have learned so much from them as well! Through this lab, not only have I gained some friends, I have also garnered more opportunities, such as the opportunity to co-found a student club and build a community for students interested in Applied Behavior Analysis, present at conferences even during online instruction, assist in publishing peer-reviewed articles, professionally grow with my colleagues, and work on my honors thesis, which is to understand potential barriers that minorities face when pursuing higher education and addressing that using Applied Behavior Analysis modalities. 

I think that being a good consumer of research (and still learning how to improve) has helped me share what I know about the literature, as well as develop critiques for it. In some of the projects that we are doing in the lab, we use what we already know not to reinvent the wheel, but to improve what has already been introduced by other researchers. A lot of our work is geared towards clinicians, teachers and researchers to help children with disabilities learn and develop skills and as we transition back to in-person learning, I know that we can help make an impact through our research. 

Don't be shy - reach out to faculty! Most of the time, they are excited to share their works with you outside of the classroom setting. They are also a good resource for more resources, as they are always ready to share other other contacts, help you network, and find a lab or position that is the best fit for you. 

"If they can't learn the way we teach, we teach the way they learn" is a quote from one of the pioneers of ABA (Ole Ivan Lovaas) that I've heard repeatedly from mentors and the more I garner knowledge about the ABA field, the more it resonates with me. Since a lot of my work has to do with how we learn things, I've come to understand and embrace the idiosyncrasies learning. 

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Name: Hope Timoll

Internship, Co-op, or Research Site: Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women

Position Title: Summer Fellow

Major or Program: Media and Communication Studies

Current Class Level: Senior

Work Term: Summer 2021

I wrote op-eds on public policy issues and current events, hosted and attended D.C. local seminars, received media training, created social media content, introduced speakers, and developed business strategies.

I heard of the position in late 2018 through the internet and decided to apply last Spring when I was enrolled in MCS 144. I used resources from that class to prepare my application, in addition to the Career Center’s drop-in resume sessions. 

As an intern for this organization, I can truly see how the staff wants to help other college students like me in entering the workforce. I don't feel like another intern at all. They truly want to see me put my best foot forward and are willing to assist me in any way to complete that endeavor and reach my career goals. I enjoyed having a mentor in the office to talk with and using my writing skills. The intern program is a phenomenal experience.

I believe I made an impact on people through my various writing activities, helping them to understand certain policies and current events better.

Be proactive and be open to a flexible schedule. Every day was so different, I always had to be prepared for anything that came my way!

This internship helped me to understand a lot about myself and my career goals. What I learned during my time as an intern was just as important as what I am learning in the classroom. I enjoyed being able to earn academic credit while working over the summer, and the Career Center guaranteed that I was obtaining the most out of my internship by ensuring that I was up to date on various forms and I had appointments to discuss the status of the internship and learned skills that I believe will last a lifetime.

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