On my first day at Syncfusion, I remember sitting in the lobby, anxiously waiting to see what this internship would bring me. With less than a week left, Syncfusion has given me an enlightening internship experience that exceeded all of my expectations.
For me, the most important aspect of an internship was gaining as much practical knowledge as I could and exercising my analytical and problem-solving skills in the IT field. Interning under Jaclyn Vidusic and Jessica Phillips has been a rewarding experience, and they have taught me skills that will be useful throughout my career. When designing projects for me to complete, they considered my goals for the summer and the knowledge and experience I hoped to gain from my internship. Every project I worked on this summer has helped me meet goals that I set before I walked in on my first day.
When I received my first project, I felt both excited and nervous. I was creating work that would actually have an impact on the company, and not many college freshmen get the opportunity to do that. I wrote regular expressions for the legal team to help sort through software licenses more efficiently and decide which software could be sold commercially. Additionally, I completed several Salesforce projects and observed technical support calls.
One of the key points of my internship learning experience was adjusting my mindset to think about problems from a business perspective. For example, when I began my Salesforce training, the only thing on my mind was solving the problem that was presented to me; if the team needed to learn how many licenses were sold last month, then finding that piece of information was my sole focus. However, when it came to projects where I had to pull reports and create dashboards, I was forced to think about the big picture. Who would be using the report? What kinds of information would be useful to them? How should the report be organized so that the most important pieces of data would be clearly displayed and easy to read? These projects benefitted me greatly by helping me to refine my own business sense and to analyze questions from viewpoints I had not previously considered.
The work, as meaningful and important as it was, was not the only thing that made my Syncfusion internship such a wonderful experience. In my time here, I have gotten to meet some amazing and inspiring people. My initial imposter syndrome was gone before the end of the first week, and I was able to settle in seamlessly due to Syncfusion’s welcoming environment. Everyone treated me like a valuable member of the team and made efforts to get to know me. With the software industry being male dominated, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was working with an all-female team. Working on a team of like-minded, intelligent women was both inspiring and empowering.
The Syncfusion team values networking and facilitating positive relationships between their employees. From catered meals to stress management seminars, Syncfusion supports their employees, and that didn’t exclude an intern. Additionally, I received professional development training to prepare me for the future. For example, a team member sat down with me and gave me feedback on how to improve both my resume and LinkedIn profiles. She also gave me advice on how to conduct myself and navigate the workplace environment. I now feel more prepared for future classes, internships, and other professional development opportunities.
It was a pleasure to intern with Syncfusion this summer. The lessons I have learned will benefit me greatly in both my academic and professional careers, and I am truly thankful for everyone who made this such a positive experience.