Technology & GIS

Summer 2020

Position: Administrative Intern
Student: Urban Studies & Management Information Systems Junior

Caritas of Austin is a non-profit organization dedicated to ending homelessness in Austin. Caritas aims to achieve this by focusing on housing first and really getting folks experiencing homelessness into housing. I found Caritas through the Senate of College Councils (a student organization I am in) where the leader of Caritas came to speak to us. I was intrigued by Caritas bold mission and wanted to get involved.

As an MIS major, I was thrilled to have my position at Caritas as an administrative intern where a lot of the work that I am doing revolves around updating Caritas technical infrastructure. My current project is centered around updating Caritas training modules to be more streamlined and inclusive. Additionally, I also worked on the training material for the staff to ensure that they are competent in using Caritas technical systems.

My favorite apart about interning at Caritas has been the feeling that my work is positively impacting the community. Usually technical jobs/internships are often for big corporations, but it’s been a great experience using my technical expertise to help a nonprofit instead. I hope that I will continue to be involved in Caritas no matter where my future career may take me.

Spring 2017

Position: Data Science and Software Development
Student: Geography Junior 

A typical “day in the life” at Cocolevio is difficult to describe because so far, not one day has been the same as another, but that’s one of my favorite things about working for this company. Cocolevio is a start-up company in Austin that has been operating for about a year. Cocolevio is a business and technology consulting company and a software development company. Since the business revolves around developing software to solve any problems a business is having and Cocolevio does not limit itself by focusing on a single type of business, any responsibilities and roles can take a 180 degree shift in 24 hours. However, I will attempt to describe a typical current work day at Cocolevio, even though it will be vastly different from six months ago when I first started because start-up companies are constantly changing. 

I usually roll into the office a little before nine o’ clock and go through my coffee making, water filling, morning ritual. Once I get settled into my desk and have my computer up and running and all my stuff arranged on my desk, I will lean over to my CTO and supervisor sitting next to me and ask what task has priority today (since the business development side of the company is constantly negotiating current/new deals) and we will go over a rough agenda for the day. An attractive feature of working for Cocolevio is that there is almost no micro-managing as long as what needs to be done, gets done. Therefore, I like to start the morning by working on a few tasks I know I can knock out relatively easily and quick just to get the brain juices flowing. I then will start on the most difficult project or task for that day. Cocolevio believes in learning by being thrown into the deep end, so I am spending most of the time trying to problem-solve to figure out how to complete this task only leaning over and asking my CTO for help when it’s absolutely necessary. At some point in the day, my CTO will have me roll over to his desk and we will pair-program a difficult, conceptually intensive problem. This is a time when he can teach me and I can learn something more difficult, but I can also assist him so no conceptual mistakes are made. In addition, there will be random meetings/calls with clients where I am attending purely to offer technology guidance and answer any technical questions they may have. That is a pretty standard day at Cocolevio.

Spring 2018

Position: Project Management Intern
Student: Geography Senior

There is nothing like working at a tech startup. I hadn’t realized how strong of an effect a work environment can have on the employees at a company until I started working at Conversable. Most tech startups, including the one I’m working at, are extremely flexible with things such as vacations, where you want to work, etc. The idea is to be as flexible and accommodating as possible so that employees can be most comfortable and an work as efficiently as they can.

The office is completely open-concept, with no walls dividing people in different departments or in higher positions. The only private rooms are for meetings. Additionally, the office provides distractions such as an Xbox, ping pong, and board games so employees can take a break from working and recharge. Lastly (and the best part, in my opinion), the office has a large kitchen fully stocked with snacks and drinks-- cookies, fruit, hummus, Topo Chico, green tea, etc.

Interns at Conversable are given assignments that can be very different from each other. This is because Conversable’s client base is very varied in what they do. Some of the clients include Wendy’s, Whole Foods, Marvel, Cigna, and Facebook. Since each client is fairly different in what they do and what their goals are, so is what we develop for them at Conversable. Assignments may span from data entry and analysis to creating pitch decks and sales demos. You may also help actually create a bot or design its conversation flow!

Fall 2017

Position: Project Management Intern
Student: Geography Senior

On a regular day at Conversable, I’ll walk into the office and stop by the kitchen for a snack. I’ll walk by my coworkers, some of them working on a couch, others at their standing desks, and others playing ping pong. I’ll start by checking my emails and tasks assigned to me and get to work. Typically, I’ll be assigned a couple of tasks a day, in which I’ll have to do anything spanning from data integration to bot testing. I’ve had to look up, re-format, and integrate data on hundreds of pictures for clients such as David Yurman. On other occasions, I’ve had to look over a chat flow diagram and go over the actual bot to check if there are any errors. I’ve also had to update chat flows and content sheets, as well as record bots and create a demo video for sales purposes. What I’ve done the most, however, has been creating the bots themselves. That’s what I did for Sony—they came out with a new Polish crime series for which my team built bot experiences allowing users to go through and solve each episode’s crime—in English or Polish. I was given a script and videos/images – what we call “assets”—and used that to create bots for different episodes. It was a really fun experience. As for the office place, it’s what one would expect for a tech startup. It’s very fun—it’s colorful, open concept, and very dynamic. People work wherever they’re comfortable, whether it is one of the couches, the floor, sitting or standing desk—wherever. There’s an Xbox, a Nintendo Wii, a ping pong table, and more. People will play cards and ping pong in the middle of the day. There’s a fully stocked kitchen with treats and drinks. Even though everyone is given so many distractions and things for indulgence, people are always expected to deliver, and they do.

Fall 2017

Position: Software Engineering Internship
Student: Humanities Junior

My internship this past semester was at a company called data.world. I served as a software engineering intern for the company, which is currently sized at 50 people. Before I dive too deep into what work I did, let me explain the company first. data.world is a company that is working to build the most meaningful data platform in the world. What does it mean to be a meaningful data platform? The current state of data is such where data is scattered everywhere. With this being the case, it’s incredibly to hard find data to use for analysis and finding insights. Most of the time of a data scientist is notably known for searching and cleaning data, as opposed to performing analysis on the data. data.world aims to solve this problem by creating an open platform where people can upload their data. The thesis of data.world is open data. The idea is that by having an open data platform, more people can find data faster and then create insights and analyses faster. But data.world isn’t just an open repository –– it’s so much more. The company also has worked to build a data analyses platform on the site itself, so people can perform their analyses on the site itself, instead of moving to another application. Lastly, data.world is a social site –– so it combines all your fun data oriented people in a Facebook like environment. As a software engineer I was in charge of building a better experience for our 100K users, specifically in the context of email. My job was to create a better email system. I would wake up every day at 9:30AM to prepare for my daily 10AM standup meeting. There I would present my progress and goals for the day, week. Then I’d head to work typically at 1PM and work till about 6PM. Every day I’d work on my project –– emails. I coded in a lot of HTML and CSS and JavaScript, especially in React frameworks. Every Friday we’d have show and tells where we’d show off the work the different teams would be doing. The routine hardly changed from that and frankly –– I’m not one to complain. The company treated me well, compensated me fairly, and taught me so much. Even without the free lunches, data.world is a company I’m honored to have worked for. My biggest takeaway is that your major literally does not matter. If you show determination and learn some technical skills, you can get any job you want.

Summer 2020 Site Review

Position: Transformation Office Intern
Student: Economics & Mathematics Senior

This summer I interned at Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, the world's largest biotechnology company. The company pursues groundbreaking scientific research to discover and develop medicines for people with series diseases; it was the first publicly traded biotech company and is largely considered the birthplace of modern, commercialized biotechnology. 

I found this internship on LinkedIn and applied directly on the company's career page. After a few rounds of interviews, I was offered a position within the Transformation Office, a cross-functional group focused on implementing Agile frameworks in pharmaceutical manufacturing and taking on special ad-hoc projects from executives. As such, my word primarily consisted of financial modeling and data analysis, as well as more interpersonal work such as facilitating meeting as an Agile Coach and developing strategic roadmaps for various teams. My favorite aspect of the internship was having the opportunity to develop my "soft skills" and taking on a large amount of responsibility as an undergraduate intern. I was trusted to be the face of the Transformation Office in meetings and I was able to both learn a lot and have a significant impact because of it. 

Spring 2024

Position: Web Development Intern
Student: Economics (B.S.) Junior

CharacterStrong provides “Research-backed curricula and training that increase belonging, well-being, and engagement for students and staff”. They essentially provide three tiers of products to support social development in the classroom.

I found this internship immediately following my freshman year and jumped at the opportunity for development. I was eventually not selected for the position, which was quite upsetting because I was passionate about the mission as well as the chance to get hands-on experience. The following year, I applied again and received an offer! I heard of the company through a high school friend and found the EdTech section incredibly fascinating.

My primary duties as a Web Development Intern include refactoring code, implementing designs for user-facing pages on our site, and ensuring reliability through testing reusable components. The project I worked on for the first 10 months of my internship was refactoring a WordPress site into more mainstream and scalable technologies such as React and TypeScript.

The favorite portion of my internship thus far is the professional development available to me. Our team, though fully remote, is incredibly connected which allows me to ask questions at absolutely any time! If I ever need assistance with something blocking me, confusing me, or I’m simply curious about, I’m able to gain knowledge on it immediately!

Spring 2024

Position: Product Manager Intern
Student: Economics Sophomore

I'm interning at CharityStack, a leading fundraising platform for nonprofits, which I found through family connections.  We're known for eliminating the administrative work of running a nonprofit, allowing them to focus on addressing the world's most challenging issues. The current core technology offers an optimized checkout form, outperforming many legacy payment providers commonly employed by large nonprofits. However, the overarching vision is to establish a comprehensive suite of software products, empowering nonprofits to automate both fundraising and financial operations. As we aim to expand our focus to larger companies, my role involves researching the transition process and gaining insights into other enterprises. Subsequently, I'll contribute to a featured piece for our website. What excites me most about this internship is the opportunity to delve into the tech industry daily and continually learn. Being part of a team that drives positive change and empowers organizations to make a meaningful difference in the world is incredibly rewarding.

Spring 2022

Position: IT Geospatial Analyst
Student: Government, Geography, Sustainability Studies

This semester, I interned at the City of Austin’s Watershed Protection Department as an IT Geospatial Technician Intern. There are several small divisions within WPD that focus on policy, engineering, HR, fieldwork, IT, and others to make the Department’s mission of protecting lives, property, and the environment a reality; so, there really is something for everyone. The City of Austin posts all internships and temporary positions at https://www.austincityjobs.org/, so if you’re interested, keep an eye out!

I worked within Planning, Monitoring, and Compliance’s GIS section. Primarily, my job was to support the rest of my co-workers when necessary and handle assigned projects. I had the privilege of cleaning and updating the City’s geocoded Community Assistance Form (CAF) database, creating a model to find suitable easements for flood control projects in watersheds, and help update the City’s creek line and creek type dataset. Our section fields a lot of one-off requests and works on several long-range projects, as well, so there’s always an opportunity to learn something new about the City or GIS if you’d like to!

A highlight from my time here has been the work environment. Everyone is willing to help, provide new opportunities to learn and expand your skillset, and have a chat about all things Watershed! For someone like me who cares about the environment and is interested in community-focused work, the people I met here were an incredible inspiration and resource.

Spring 2017

Position: Data Science and Software Development
Student: Geography Junior 

A typical “day in the life” at Cocolevio is difficult to describe because so far, not one day has been the same as another, but that’s one of my favorite things about working for this company. Cocolevio is a start-up company in Austin that has been operating for about a year. Cocolevio is a business and technology consulting company and a software development company. Since the business revolves around developing software to solve any problems a business is having and Cocolevio does not limit itself by focusing on a single type of business, any responsibilities and roles can take a 180 degree shift in 24 hours. However, I will attempt to describe a typical current work day at Cocolevio, even though it will be vastly different from six months ago when I first started because start-up companies are constantly changing. 

I usually roll into the office a little before nine o’ clock and go through my coffee making, water filling, morning ritual. Once I get settled into my desk and have my computer up and running and all my stuff arranged on my desk, I will lean over to my CTO and supervisor sitting next to me and ask what task has priority today (since the business development side of the company is constantly negotiating current/new deals) and we will go over a rough agenda for the day. An attractive feature of working for Cocolevio is that there is almost no micro-managing as long as what needs to be done, gets done. Therefore, I like to start the morning by working on a few tasks I know I can knock out relatively easily and quick just to get the brain juices flowing. I then will start on the most difficult project or task for that day. Cocolevio believes in learning by being thrown into the deep end, so I am spending most of the time trying to problem-solve to figure out how to complete this task only leaning over and asking my CTO for help when it’s absolutely necessary. At some point in the day, my CTO will have me roll over to his desk and we will pair-program a difficult, conceptually intensive problem. This is a time when he can teach me and I can learn something more difficult, but I can also assist him so no conceptual mistakes are made. In addition, there will be random meetings/calls with clients where I am attending purely to offer technology guidance and answer any technical questions they may have. That is a pretty standard day at Cocolevio.

Spring 2018

Position: Project Management Intern
Student: Geography Senior

There is nothing like working at a tech startup. I hadn’t realized how strong of an effect a work environment can have on the employees at a company until I started working at Conversable. Most tech startups, including the one I’m working at, are extremely flexible with things such as vacations, where you want to work, etc. The idea is to be as flexible and accommodating as possible so that employees can be most comfortable and an work as efficiently as they can.

The office is completely open-concept, with no walls dividing people in different departments or in higher positions. The only private rooms are for meetings. Additionally, the office provides distractions such as an Xbox, ping pong, and board games so employees can take a break from working and recharge. Lastly (and the best part, in my opinion), the office has a large kitchen fully stocked with snacks and drinks-- cookies, fruit, hummus, Topo Chico, green tea, etc.

Interns at Conversable are given assignments that can be very different from each other. This is because Conversable’s client base is very varied in what they do. Some of the clients include Wendy’s, Whole Foods, Marvel, Cigna, and Facebook. Since each client is fairly different in what they do and what their goals are, so is what we develop for them at Conversable. Assignments may span from data entry and analysis to creating pitch decks and sales demos. You may also help actually create a bot or design its conversation flow!

Fall 2017

Position: Project Management Intern
Student: Geography Senior

On a regular day at Conversable, I’ll walk into the office and stop by the kitchen for a snack. I’ll walk by my coworkers, some of them working on a couch, others at their standing desks, and others playing ping pong. I’ll start by checking my emails and tasks assigned to me and get to work. Typically, I’ll be assigned a couple of tasks a day, in which I’ll have to do anything spanning from data integration to bot testing. I’ve had to look up, re-format, and integrate data on hundreds of pictures for clients such as David Yurman. On other occasions, I’ve had to look over a chat flow diagram and go over the actual bot to check if there are any errors. I’ve also had to update chat flows and content sheets, as well as record bots and create a demo video for sales purposes. What I’ve done the most, however, has been creating the bots themselves. That’s what I did for Sony—they came out with a new Polish crime series for which my team built bot experiences allowing users to go through and solve each episode’s crime—in English or Polish. I was given a script and videos/images – what we call “assets”—and used that to create bots for different episodes. It was a really fun experience. As for the office place, it’s what one would expect for a tech startup. It’s very fun—it’s colorful, open concept, and very dynamic. People work wherever they’re comfortable, whether it is one of the couches, the floor, sitting or standing desk—wherever. There’s an Xbox, a Nintendo Wii, a ping pong table, and more. People will play cards and ping pong in the middle of the day. There’s a fully stocked kitchen with treats and drinks. Even though everyone is given so many distractions and things for indulgence, people are always expected to deliver, and they do.

Spring 2023

Position: Regulatory Affairs Intern
Student: Sustainability Studies Junior

I work for Emergo by UL, a medical device consulting firm based in Austin but with offices around the globe. The company’s services bridge the gap between medical device manufacturers and meeting market standards around the world. I found this internship searching online, using sites like Indeed and Handshake. I work with the regulatory research team, which follows regulations and provides updates through two databases. One is our internal database which consultants can use in their work for clients, while the other, RAMS, is open to subscribers outside of the company. I spend much of my time organizing regulatory information and in tracking the quarterly reviews, though I also have made presentations and various forms. I really enjoy how much flexibility the company has with their interns, as they have a hybrid mode of work and are open to unique schedules. Further, I’ve been able to meet new people, learn about the medical device industry, and grow as an individual in the process.

Spring 2024

Position: Front End Engineering Intern
Student: Psychology Senior

Fail Better Training offers mental performance coaching to athletes, coaches, and professionals. They help individuals and teams develop the mental skills needed to overcome challenges and excel in their fields. I discovered this opportunity through a personal connection – my professor introduced me to the founder, who is her friend. My primary role involved enhancing the responsiveness and user experience of the company's website and mobile platforms. I truly appreciated the flexibility and efficiency of the CEO. This flexible work environment allowed me to balance my internship responsibilities with my academic commitments.

Summer 2020 

Position: Transformation Office Intern
Student: Economics and Mathematics Senior

This summer I interned at Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, the world's largest biotechnology company. The company pursues groundbreaking scientific research to discover and develop medicines for people with series diseases; it was the first publicly traded biotech company and is largely considered the birthplace of modern, commercialized biotechnology. 

I found this internship on LinkedIn and applied directly on the company's career page. After a few rounds of interviews, I was offered a position within the Transformation Office, a cross-functional group focused on implementing Agile frameworks in pharmaceutical manufacturing and taking on special ad-hoc projects from executives. As such, my word primarily consisted of financial modeling and data analysis, as well as more interpersonal work such as facilitating meeting as an Agile Coach and developing strategic roadmaps for various teams. My favorite aspect of the internship was having the opportunity to develop my "soft skills" and taking on a large amount of responsibility as an undergraduate intern. I was trusted to be the face of the Transformation Office in meetings and I was able to both learn a lot and have a significant impact because of it. 

Summer 2023 

Position: Technical Writer Intern 
Student: English Senior, UTNY Participant 

Medidata Solutions is a software development company that creates products to help companies manage and run successful clinical trials. Their team consists of a wide variety of departments including software development, technical communication strategy, sales, and marketing that enable them to pursue success in the life science industry. My internship opportunity came about when searching for jobs on the UTNY internship hub. I have a strong background in STEM and am pursuing a career in writing, so the position of being a technical writing intern for Medidata seemed like a perfect fit. The responsibilities of my position include reviewing existing content on Medidata products and software for review and edits, assisting product managers on software updates by writing release notes for customers, and strategizing better ways to communicate company product knowledge to clients whether it’s by reorganizing content or implementing PUA (Progressive User Assistance) guides within Medidata’s applications. My favorite thing about the internship has been the exposure I’ve received on the life science industry and learning about the immense career opportunities it offers. Everyone at Medidata Solutions, no matter what their department is, collaborates closely to provide clients and customers with the best experience possible. 

Fall 2019

Position: Software Engineer Intern
Student: Asian Cultures and Languages and Advertising Senior

This fall I worked on various projects on Pingboard Org Chars web app. This app helps companies manage their employee information, corporate structure with a tree-like org chart, and sharing out-of-office statuses with ease. It is built with React, ES6 an Ruby on Rails.

I worked on several small bug fixes, features in mainly the frontend part. Two big projects are: implementing a homepage redesigning that lists all hiring roles in the company and handles expired session tokens by renewing tokens silently in the background for the user. 

The homepage redesign project is more product-based. I volunteered to implement API endpoints that lists all hiring roles. I referred to other backend codes and learned recursive SQL commands. Hiring roles are organized in a tree-like org chart structure so extracting them with associated departments is quite tricky. I wired everything up in Rails. For the frontend, I redesigned several components and implemented calling backend API at the proper timing. I spent quite a lot of time on improving accessibility, responsiveness and compatibility. 

The other project is more technical based. I need to catch 401 errors on API response, sending renew token request and resent all failure requests. I used a promise to let all failed requests wait to renew token request. In this way, I made sure that the code will only send renew token requests once when catching multiple 401 errors. 

The development process is like this, as a developer, I'll pick up a Trello card created by the product managers and familiarize myself with related knowledge. Sometimes, Ill go to the product managers for clarification. I'll then start on implementing this. After that, I'll write tests if possible. Then I'll create pull request on Github and ask other developers to do a code review. I'll document what has changed and why, QA lists, open questions, etc. Other developers will make comments and I will make changes accordingly. 

Position: Software Engineer Intern
Student: Economics, Engineering Junior

My internship this summer was in a Software Engineering role with Verizon at Irving, TX. This experience was fun and inquisitive. I got the opportunity to learn and improve as an analytic thinker and software engineer. I am a computer science and economics student and after graduating, I would like to work as a software engineer or program manager.  Through this internship I got to work on real work, I was not assigned an intern project. The project I was working on involved creating a product to help Verizon developers improve their ticket resolving process for a particular system. The project involved me learning about data analytics, using a new tool to understand the different occurrences within the system. Then I used that information to create an application for Verizon developers. This project caused me to learn new information including a new programming language, Angular 2. I also had to collaborate with a team of other interns to complete the project, this was exciting because it helped me develop friendships and network with people from all over the United States. Overall, this internship was a great experience. I learned a lot, improved my communication, business and technical skills. I also got to learn about Verizon, the different business they own, the different services they provide, for example I did not know that Verizon owns Yahoo and Tumblr. Overall, I loved my experience with Verizon, I got to make new friends, got to know a new city and learn different technical skills, and I am definitely looking forward to potentially working with Verizon post-graduation.

Position: Software Engineering Intern
Student: Sustainability Studies & Computer Science Senior

Student Name: Eliezer Pearl

This summer I worked as a software engineering intern at Whiteout Solutions in Lyndonville, VT. Whitout Solutions is small business in rural Vermont looking to make forestry mapping a more accessible practice to its clients. In particular, Whiteout Solutions is making forestry mapping more efficient and cheap by using lightweight drones instead of large aircraft to scan forests from above using LiDAR sensing. I found this internship from a newsletter distributed by a coworking space near my house. As an intern, I worked on writing code to control the drone and show the results to customers. My favorite aspect of this internship was writing code that would go to a sustainable cause; oftentimes, there is a disconnect between the coder and the morals behind their work, and I am lucky that this was not the case for me. 

Summer 2016 

Position: Drafter Intern
Student: Economics Senior

Williams Communications has many different positions within the company that can appeal to a lot of different in interests. They have “field guys” which go out to different cities and states and walk out the area we are asked to design. This job title is for those that like working with their hands, like to be working outdoors and want to know how telecommunications equipment attaches and is installed out on the roads. Instead of a 40 hour work week, the schedule is 3 weeks on a job site and one week home. For example if we are doing a walk-out in Alaska, the company will fly you out to Alaska, rents a hotel room and you stay there for three weeks and then come home and are “off” for a week. The next position is drafter which is what I am currently doing. This position is entirely focused on working with the AutoCAD software. When the guys come back from the field they have maps that are marked up with notes form the field. These notes could include tap numbers, pole numbers, differences in footages. These maps help us know what is actually out there so we can design appropriately. Sometimes we get 30 year old maps from the company and they might show three taps in a row. Our designer would put a line extender on the cable in order to amplify the signal. The company might have already put a line extender 10 years ago so the field guys save us money and time by finding out that there already is one. It’s up to the drafter to put those changes in so that when it goes to the designer, he has the most up to date information. Finally there is a designer. This is a more complicated position that requires experience in the company. This position would need to watch the current drafter for a few months in order to learn how to know where to place equipment. This position also needs time and years to have the ability to intuitively know where to amplify a signal and where the existing equipment can be left alone. Overall, Williams is not just a one major type of company and has a lot of opportunity for anyone interested in engineering or drafting.

Spring 2022

Position: IT Geospatial Analyst
Student: Government, Geography & Sustainability Studies

This semester, I interned at the City of Austin’s Watershed Protection Department as an IT Geospatial Technician Intern. There are several small divisions within WPD that focus on policy, engineering, HR, fieldwork, IT, and others to make the Department’s mission of protecting lives, property, and the environment a reality; so, there really is something for everyone. The City of Austin posts all internships and temporary positions at https://www.austincityjobs.org/, so if you’re interested, keep an eye out!

I worked within Planning, Monitoring, and Compliance’s GIS section. Primarily, my job was to support the rest of my co-workers when necessary and handle assigned projects. I had the privilege of cleaning and updating the City’s geocoded Community Assistance Form (CAF) database, creating a model to find suitable easements for flood control projects in watersheds, and help update the City’s creek line and creek type dataset. Our section fields a lot of one-off requests and works on several long-range projects, as well, so there’s always an opportunity to learn something new about the City or GIS if you’d like to!

A highlight from my time here has been the work environment. Everyone is willing to help, provide new opportunities to learn and expand your skillset, and have a chat about all things Watershed! For someone like me who cares about the environment and is interested in community-focused work, the people I met here were an incredible inspiration and resource.

Spring 2023

Position: UX/UI Software Development Intern
Student: Economics Junior

The goal of Plant3r is to enable urban residents to start their own gardens with the help of their virtual assistance app, making gardening accessible and affordable for everyone. Their vision is to spark a revolution in urban gardening that will transform the way cities produce food in the future. I discovered this internship opportunity on Handshake and joined the team as a UX/UI Software Development Intern. Initially, my responsibilities involved using Figma designs to develop our MVP on Bubble.io. Following the launch of our MVP, I had the opportunity to enhance my skills by designing new screens for the Plant3r Virtual Assistant app. What I enjoy most about working at Plant3r is the company culture. Clifton Hartstuff, the CEO, truly cares about his interns and supports our professional growth.

Spring 2023

Position: Geographic Information Systems Specialist
Student: Urban Studies and Geography Junior

Prius Intelli is a small business that provides accurate, high-resolution aerial photography, elevation data and GIS products. Prius Intelli means “first to understand” which fits with its business model of providing aerial imagery which gives a customer an overview of an area. They use small airplanes to capture this imagery and are typically able to get the imagery to the customer in a few weeks after the quote is signed. I found this internship through a friend in one of my GIS classes here at UT Austin. He had been working for the company for a year and was able to connect me with his boss who said that they could use my help. I am sort of a jack of all trades for the company, helping with anything that I can get my hands on. I work on making quotes for customers, going on sales calls, making marketing pamphlets, doing geoprocessing work and finding interesting imagery to use for sales presentations. My favorite thing about the internship is being able to talk to people in the field, whether that be customers or employees, and trying to soak up all the knowledge and experience that I can.

Spring 2023

Position: Global Energy Portfolio Analyst
Student: Economics Senior

This semester I am interning at Tesla in the Global Energy Portfolio division with the Supercharging team. Tesla is a publicly traded company that can be considered a technology, renewable energy, and automotive company. Tesla's goal is to propel to world forward towards sustainable energy by making mass-market electric vehicles, as well as an array of different products. In my role, I work on managing databases, processing documentation, creating progress reports, and interacting with many different teams within the organization. I found this internship through networking connections, and my favorite thing about the internship is the impact Tesla is creating and our mission. I am very excited to be part of this great team.

Spring 2024

Position: GIS/Commercial Analyst Intern
Student: Geography Senior

I’ve been interning at Trillium Energy since March of 2023. The company is primarily focused on compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling operations which includes the owning of stations, procurement of fuels, and distribution to fleets as well as the public. There are also divisions focused on new alternative fuels such as EV’s and Hydrogen. The company shares an office with Musket Corp. which is a commodity supply, trading, and logistics company, and both are subsidiaries of Love’s Travel Stops.

 I found this position on LinkedIn as they were in need of someone with GIS experience. The interns who I worked alongside over the summer had a much different experience – they had to apply a year ahea of time, and went through an “interview weekend” where they had to collaborate and present a solution to a problem they we’re given.  I guess it is very competitive but I think the experience that you can gain at these companies is well worth it, I feel pretty lucky.            

I primarily handle the geospatial analyses related to grant opportunities we pursue in the natural gas, EV, and hydrogen spaces. I’ve also taken over a lot of the electric utility outreach and optimizing energy costs at new installations, and help manage our solar operations. This company is really great at promoting your growth and giving you opportunities to take on new challenges if you have initiative. My favorite thing about the internship is the culture of the office. It’s fast-paced and challenging but also very casual and laid-back.  

Position: Software Engineer Intern
Student: Economics and Engineering Junior

My internship this summer was in a Software Engineering role with Verizon at Irving, TX. This experience was fun and inquisitive. I got the opportunity to learn and improve as an analytic thinker and software engineer. I am a computer science and economics student and after graduating, I would like to work as a software engineer or program manager.  Through this internship I got to work on real work, I was not assigned an intern project. The project I was working on involved creating a product to help Verizon developers improve their ticket resolving process for a particular system. The project involved me learning about data analytics, using a new tool to understand the different occurrences within the system. Then I used that information to create an application for Verizon developers. This project caused me to learn new information including a new programming language, Angular 2. I also had to collaborate with a team of other interns to complete the project, this was exciting because it helped me develop friendships and network with people from all over the United States. Overall, this internship was a great experience. I learned a lot, improved my communication, business and technical skills. I also got to learn about Verizon, the different business they own, the different services they provide, for example I did not know that Verizon owns Yahoo and Tumblr. Overall, I loved my experience with Verizon, I got to make new friends, got to know a new city and learn different technical skills, and I am definitely looking forward to potentially working with Verizon post-graduation.

Position: Software Engineering Intern
Student: Sustainability Studies and Computer Science Senior

This summer I worked as a software engineering intern at Whiteout Solutions in Lyndonville, VT. Whitout Solutions is small business in rural Vermont looking to make forestry mapping a more accessible practice to its clients. In particular, Whiteout Solutions is making forestry mapping more efficient and cheap by using lightweight drones instead of large aircraft to scan forests from above using LiDAR sensing. I found this internship from a newsletter distributed by a coworking space near my house. As an intern, I worked on writing code to control the drone and show the results to customers. My favorite aspect of this internship was writing code that would go to a sustainable cause; oftentimes, there is a disconnect between the coder and the morals behind their work, and I am lucky that this was not the case for me. 

Summer 2016 

Position: Drafter Intern
Student: Economics Senior

Williams Communications has many different positions within the company that can appeal to a lot of different in interests. They have “field guys” which go out to different cities and states and walk out the area we are asked to design. This job title is for those that like working with their hands, like to be working outdoors and want to know how telecommunications equipment attaches and is installed out on the roads. Instead of a 40 hour work week, the schedule is 3 weeks on a job site and one week home. For example if we are doing a walk-out in Alaska, the company will fly you out to Alaska, rents a hotel room and you stay there for three weeks and then come home and are “off” for a week. The next position is drafter which is what I am currently doing. This position is entirely focused on working with the AutoCAD software. When the guys come back from the field they have maps that are marked up with notes form the field. These notes could include tap numbers, pole numbers, differences in footages. These maps help us know what is actually out there so we can design appropriately. Sometimes we get 30 year old maps from the company and they might show three taps in a row. Our designer would put a line extender on the cable in order to amplify the signal. The company might have already put a line extender 10 years ago so the field guys save us money and time by finding out that there already is one. It’s up to the drafter to put those changes in so that when it goes to the designer, he has the most up to date information. Finally there is a designer. This is a more complicated position that requires experience in the company. This position would need to watch the current drafter for a few months in order to learn how to know where to place equipment. This position also needs time and years to have the ability to intuitively know where to amplify a signal and where the existing equipment can be left alone. Overall, Williams is not just a one major type of company and has a lot of opportunity for anyone interested in engineering or drafting.