Name:Sai Venkatesh Kurella
Internship, Co-op or Research Site:Collins Aerospace
Position Title:Software Engineering Intern
Major(s)/Minor(s):Computer Science
Current Class Level:Master’s Student
Work Term:Summer 2020
Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.
I had the pleasure of working for Collins Aerospace as a Software Engineering Intern for Summer 2020. During my internship, I was assigned to a team that works on building a new web application for Aircraft Cabin Services Management, tracking and value-added services. As an intern, it is really a great opportunity to be an integral part of the team. As the internship experience was remote due to the pandemic, it was a whole new dynamic to get started, communicate with the team and deliver the tasks. I was coordinating with my Team Lead, Scrum Master, Manager all through. After my orientation, I was assigned a few tasks/user stories. I was responsible for development and delivery of software modules for desktop, mobile, tablet views. We had daily stand-up calls, weekly status meetings, retrospection meetings with teams in other countries to make sure everything is in place and discuss the strategies, seek feedback, changes. Also, I was involved in regular customer demonstrations, received and implemented customer directed changes, worked and collaborated across multi-national development teams. Apart from these, there were also fun activities, events to get to know more about the projects, technologies, and interact with fellow interns. This internship taught me new techniques and approaches.
Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?
I applied for the position through a careers website. A couple of weeks after applying for the position, a recruiter from the company reached out to me to set up a phone interview. After the phone interview, another interview was scheduled with Lead Developers and a Manager. There were two more interviews which included questions about programming and system design. After a week, a video conference was scheduled discussing further details. Within a week, I heard back from the recruiter through an email with an offer letter containing the details of the internship.
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization?
I was always amazed by the way Aircrafts work and I am glad that I could associate with an organization that works for Aircrafts. Given the current situations due to the pandemic, we have been working remotely and constantly connected via calls, video conferences. I really enjoyed learning, working on the latest technologies, learning about the avionics domain, communicating with team-members whom I have never met before in-person yet, working together as a team, and delivering the tasks. Communicating with the team has been very important in this setup to make sure everyone is on the same page. There were also weekly fun activities as well like Kahoot, Scribble games, Cohort programs, Quizzes, interactions with Senior Management, Talent shows, etc. which were really refreshing and insightful.
How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?
Starting as a remote intern and having never met any of the team members before, I believe gaining the trust of the team, bonding, communicating with the team has been crucial due to the remote work setup. I had all the weight for making critical decisions for developing the application, so I had a liberty in how I chose to implement it as per the standards. As I see the application evolving and performing as expected, I get a sense for just how important my work really is. Accommodating the evolving requirements, learning and implementing new technologies was challenging and rewarding.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
My advice would be to keep a close watch on UMBCworks and other job portals that would help you find an internship or job opportunity. The Career Center is an incredibly helpful resource to improve your resume and strengthen your interview skills.
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JPMorgan Chase is currently recruiting for their Advancing Black Pathways Summer Fellowship Program. Open to all majors.
The ABP Fellowship Program is a six-week paid, full-time fellowship held during the summer months in select JPMorgan Chase & Co. locations for undergraduate sophomores, in particular Black students. This program will give you the opportunity to get exposure to our senior leaders, learn about our businesses, build professional development skills and positively impact the future of people’s lives, our firm and our industry. Please see the attached flier for additional information about attending an info session and applying to the program.
Application Link: https://jpmc.recsolu.com/external/events/4AaO7BzyOxs6vrVOI60Thw
]]>Meeting ID: 966 2331 3041
Instagram: @umbcprepharmacysociety
Facebook: UMBC Pre-Pharmacy Society
and we also have a GroupMe chat:
https://groupme.com/join_group/54738203/uHip512d
and we do have a myUMBC page!
Name:Sahar Mahate
Internship, Co-op or Research Site:Johns Hopkins Medicine
Position Title:Undergraduate Student Researcher
Major(s)/Minor(s):Biology and Health Administration/Policy
Current Class Level:Junior
Work Term:Summer 2020
Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.
As lab research shifted online, my responsibilities changed a lot. When I was working at this lab in person, I injected tumors into the tibias of live animal models, operated technology for X-rays and ultrasounds on animal models, completed stress experiments and necropsies on mice and rats, and performed western blots, cell cultures, and DNA methylation analyses. With virtual work, there was a lot more focus on literature review and data analysis. We would have meetings where research was discussed, and I would be assigned specific topics to present on. We also began using a new proteomic analysis program to identify and compare pathways of primary osteosarcoma tumors and secondary pulmonary tumors to determine how commonly upregulated pathways associated with pulmonary metastasis in osteosarcoma can be inhibited. My responsibility was to work with the other undergraduate researchers in the lab to figure out how the program worked, use it to analyze the data, and present relevant findings at lab meetings.
Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?
This is a research lab I've been working at since high school, and have continued to work with throughout college.
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization?
This summer, I really enjoyed being able to take charge and work on an independent project with the proteomics analysis program to contribute to the lab research. It gave me the opportunity to collaborate with other undergraduate colleagues to teach ourselves something new and to share the knowledge with the researchers in the lab, as the program was new to all of them as well.
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Want to be the next Intern of the Week?Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Monday!
Scott Resource Group, a well-established university recruitment consulting firm, is partnering with selected career centers nationwide, including UMBC, to conduct two important student research projects. The findings of these studies will influence how employers recruit students using virtual platforms going forward – and will impact their internship program design and execution. We’d welcome your participation in either or both of these two significant research projects.
The first survey, ‘Virtual Recruiting: What Worked, What Didn’t – and WHY’ will take a deep-dive into this semester’s pandemic-induced plunge into the world of digital recruiting. Topics will include virtual career fairs, online recruiting events, and digital interviewing.
The second project, ‘Impact of the Virtual Internship Experience’, will include questions for those who participated in a virtual internship this past summer, as well as those who are pursuing opportunities for summer 2021.
Scott Resource Group will hold a drawing for ten [10] $50 Amazon.com gift cards following the survey closing date for each of the research projects, and all students who have submitted a completed survey will be eligible to win. Students are welcome to participate in either survey – or both.
Please respond to ScottResourceGroup@comcast.net indicating your interest this way:
Request ‘W3D Survey’ in the subject line if you’d like to receive a survey for the ‘Virtual Recruiting: What Worked, What Didn’t – and WHY?’ study
Request ‘IVIE Survey’ in the subject line if you’d like to receive a survey for the ‘Impact of the Virtual Internship Experience’ study
Request ‘Both Surveys’ in the subject line if you’d like to receive both the W3D and IVIE surveys.
Please submit your email request to participate in the survey(s) by NOVEMBER 30. Scott Resource Group will begin sending survey links the week of November 16.
We appreciate your consideration – Let your voice be heard!
]]>You often hear talk of the sophomore slump- a time where students can experience heightened uncertainty and lower motivation, in addition to second guessing choices they have made in their first year of college.
However, as we find ourselves in our second semester as a virtual community, and with the uncertainty the pandemic has brought to our lives, we recognize that this same type of slump is likely impacting students at all levels – a college slump, if you will.
Below we lay out strategies and resources for overcoming a challenging season in college.
Socially, you may be feeling isolated and/or disconnected from your friends. With little opportunity to connect these days, you may be craving peer interaction and support in ways you never have before.
It can be hard to take the initial step, especially if you are burnt out on video calls, but try mixing it up a bit.
Additionally, don’t forget that Campus Life is still offering opportunities for student engagement. Check out their myUMBC page or follow the Student Events Board (SEB)’s for a list of events, both virtual and socially distanced. Many student organizations are also staying connected online, whether through social media or virtual meetings.
Academically, you may be feeling a lack of motivation to attend class or study. You be challenged by virtual learning, as it may not align with your preferred learning style. You also may be questioning your choice of major and wondering if you should completely change your academic path.
Generally speaking, slumps are a normal part of any college experience. It may seem like everyone around you has things 100% figured out, but most certainly, that is not the case. It’s what you do in the midst of a slump that will set the course for your remaining time at UMBC. The solution is almost always to take some form of action, no matter how small the step. If making social or academic changes seems too much right now, perhaps a step in the direction of your mental health and well-being is a better fit. If that’s the case, we encourage you to visit University Health Services and Health Promotion or the Counseling Center for support.