Name: Shaniah Reece

Internship, Co-op, or Research Site:  NCAR | UCAR

Position Title: SIParCS Intern

Major or Program: Information Systems

Current Class Level: Senior

Work Term: Summer 2022 

Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities. 

This summer I interned at UCAR | NCAR (University Center for Atmospheric Research | National Center for Atmospheric) as a SIParCS intern. In this role, I worked on a project with two mentors titled “Forecasting the COVID-19 pandemic”, where our goal was to demonstrate how Data Assimilation can enhance model forecasts by guiding them to more reliable predictions.

My responsibilities varied from project-based requirements to required weekly meetings, Professional Development Workshops (PDWS) and “Software Standups”.

For weekly meetings, I met with my cohort to catch-up and talk with my internship coordinator and our CODE intern (CODE stands for Community Outreach and Diversity Education) about how we were doing, upcoming opportunities or events (for example touring different NCAR facilities) and any action items we may need to attend to.

Each Tuesday and Thursday morning, I attended “Software Standups” with the team - this is an agile meeting format, where all team members would stand at their desks and give an update on where they were on a project and offer assistance to each other if needed.

Each Thursday, for about two hours I attended PDWSs which covered a range of topics, from diversity, to writing project grant proposals, to building and creating and delivering a poster presentation or talk. These were really helpful to our learning, professional development and were valuable in connecting us with various opportunities.

When I was not attending meetings I was spending time working on my project and meeting with my mentors as needed. For the first few weeks I focused on familiarizing myself with the content. This mostly consisted of learning about the SEIR epidemiological model and NCAR’s Data Assimilation Research Testbed (DART). I also utilized LinkedIn learning or NCAR’s libraries to sharpen any technical skills I needed to.

I worked with my mentors to identify reliable COVID-19 data sources and imported and cleaned them for assimilation. I kept them mentors updated on my progress daily and reached out whenever I needed help.

Once my dataset was ready, I spent the mid to end period of my internship doing work in Matlab to parameterize, tune and run sensitivity tests on my model. Oftentimes I would reach a stonewall due to missing COVID data or varying reporting practices across countries, however we were able to adjust the focus of the project to accommodate these limitations, and demonstrate how effective data assimilation can be even in such cases.

In the final days of my internship, I accumulated my findings and spent time preparing an abstract, content, layout and story for my final poster and presentations. 

Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?

 Last Fall, I was fortunate to obtain a scholarship from the Center of Women in Technology (CWIT) to attend the Tapia Conference, where I met my internship coordinator, Virginia Do. I introduced myself and gave my elevator pitch in the manner I practiced beforehand at the Career Center’s workshops, then shared my post-graduation interest to pursue a PhD in Data Science.

Our conversation went very well and I was excited to learn about NCAR and its research. Though I was a bit intimidated by the project titles and was hesitant to apply, she encouraged me to give it a shot. I promised to follow up and made sure to do so. We kept in touch via email to make sure I got my application materials in. I worked on several drafts and asked her to review my materials before submitting to make sure I was all set.

This February, I received an offer to interview. I prepared as necessary, and received confirmation a few days or weeks after my acceptance to the project.  

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization? 

I enjoyed how balanced my experience was. NCAR|UCAR prioritized our well being and made sure it was well-rounded. For example, we had a CODE intern whose role was focused on building connections among our cohort. We toured the city, biked, rock climbed, volunteered, attended movie night; I even got to go skydiving with a few interns because of the connections they made possible!  

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

 I believe I was successfully able to demonstrate that models are helpful and very necessary especially in the epidemiological field. However, they are not perfect and data assimilation can help to compensate for some of their limitations. 

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?  

Do not disqualify yourself. If you see an experience you find interesting, go for it!   

Please provide a short reflection or quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / working with the Career Center.

I deeply enjoyed the community, environment, people and experience I've had during my time in Boulder. From Day 1, I felt part of the team right up until the end of my experience. I was stunned that interns from such different backgrounds could come together in the way we did: bond, laugh, and support each other once strangers in a new place.

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The semester may have just begun but interviewing is always on our minds at the Career Center. This is because it is such an important part of the job search process. Developing strong interviewing skills is as essential as perfecting your resume and crafting a compelling cover letter.  Below are the top five tips that we recommend for a successful interview experience:

1. Remember an interview is a conversation. It can feel like you, as the interviewee, are doing most of the talking, but actually an interview is a two-way street. That means there are opportunities for both you and the employer to ask and answer questions to determine if the position will be a good fit. It is helpful to research the company before the interview and have a list of questions to ask on hand, especially if you think that you may forget on the spot.

For example, you may want to ask about what a typical day looks like in the position or even ask the interviewer to tell you what they like best about the organization. Here are some sample questions to get you started.

 2. Have your 30-second commercial handy. A 30-second commercial - otherwise known as an elevator pitch - is a quick and easy way to introduce yourself and share an overview of your accomplishments and career goals. Imagine you have stepped onto an elevator with your career hero and only have the time between the ground floor and the floor above to introduce yourself. This is when your elevator pitch will come in handy. It is essential for the interviewing process and is also useful to have on hand during our networking events, such as the Career Fair, UMBC Connects, Career Corners, and Employer Info Sessions.

Check out this link for some tips on developing a 30-second commercial. Create your own and practice with friends - or share it with us at the Career Center during drop-in hours before the next event! You can also practice your pitch using Big Interview. A good place to start is with the universal question: "Tell me about yourself."

 3. Listen to each question thoroughly. An interview is a great time to demonstrate the good listening skills that are important for any job. Be sure that you fully understand the interviewer's question before starting to answer. Feel free to jot down notes to help you remember the question or to ask for clarification before responding. Often questions have multiple parts, such as: "Can you tell me about a time when you experienced a challenge, how you overcame it, and what you learned from the experience?" In this case, you will want to respond to each of the three parts of the question using the same example of a challenge. The good news is that you get to pick the challenge that you will share, so choose one that demonstrates your resilience and growth mindset and shows you in a favorable light.

 4. Support all of your statements with examples. When responding to interview questions, support each response with details that demonstrate your capacity in that area. For example, if you state: "I pick up new technology very quickly." You will want to add a concrete example such as: "When I started my internship, I was completely unfamiliar with Buffer. Within the first week, I was using Buffer to post simultaneously to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram." Not only does this response fully answer the question, but it also provides further insights into the skills, qualities, and capacities that you can contribute to the new position.

 5. Use the STAR method. Lastly, the STAR (Situation-Task-Action-Results) method can be a great way to provide the additional detail in your responses that the interviewer is looking for - and which will help you stand out from the crowd. By going beyond a simple description of what you did and including the results of your work, an interviewer can start to visualize your level of effectiveness and how you could make a significant impact on their organization.

Here's a breakdown of the STAR method to help you begin crafting sample responses:

S - Situation - what was happening?

T - Task - what were you doing?

A - Action - what did you do as a result?

R - Result - what happened? (Including your analysis of it).

For further information and practice on the STAR method, check out the Answer Builder feature in UMBC's Big Interview platform which takes you step-by-step through applying the STAR method to your own responses.

If you are interested in learning more, join us at the upcoming "Keys to Success: Ace the Interview!" session on Monday, September 12  from 12- 1pm in Commons 331. Learn more and sign up here.

Lockheed Martin is looking for the best and brightest to help us fulfill our mission of keeping the world secure.  We participated in the DisabiltiyIN Conference and will be conducting virtual interviews on September 7, 2022.   

We have multiple full-time and internship opportunities available in the following areas: Software, Electrical/Computer, Mechanical, Manufacturing & Systems Engineering.   Visit this link DisabilityIN to view and apply to the either the software or engineering job posting.. 

There are various type of jobs available and we will match your skills/career interests to our needs.

You must be a US citizen to be considered for an interview. The deadline to apply is August 31, 2022. Please feel free to share this information with your fellow students!

Thank you for your interest in Lockheed Martin.