Yojeraj Persaud

College: Brooklyn College

Education Level: Senior

Career Interest: Software Development

I am currently a senior at Brooklyn College majoring in computer science. Whether it be software, hardware, design, I have had a passion for technology all my life. I have interests in other fields like finance and entertainment media and hope to find careers in those fields. I am doing an internship now but I will graduate soon and hope to find full-time employment. I enjoy journaling, calligraphy, programming, pen collecting, and reading.

What was your role?

I am on the mortgage feature team. Our team handles the development of a feature that would allow users to manage their mortgage loans in a way that is similar to the other management features on the website. In terms of my specific role, I help write the code required for the mortgage feature. I also do a bit of project management and serve as a representative for the mortgage team.

What did you work on?

I help write the code for the upcoming mortgage feature project. I've also contributed some code to the priority splits feature project.

What was the impact of your project?

Our project might be considered a variation of the other loan/fund tracking features. But I feel like it is a necessary part of the website. Since mortgages can be confusing to some, perhaps more than credit cards and loans, having a specialized feature can appeal to a specific user base. Its impact would be allowing people to have more control over their mortgages than before.

What did you learn or improve on from this internship or from your teammates?

I would say that my ability to collaborate and communicate improved quite a bit. I also feel like I can better manage things now as I was given more responsibility. Apart from soft skills, my technical skills have improved as well. When I first started, I was overwhelmed quite a bit by the complexity of the code. Now, I feel like I can understand more complex projects. My coding ability has improved as well, I feel like a better programmer. I also gained the ability to be more confident about my work. My soft skills like teamwork and communication have improved quite a bit. I can better integrate with teammates now and talk about what needs to be done. I can also talk to other divisions without much problem now. I learned about some other kinds of technology which improved my overall knowledge as a developer. One thing that I learned from my teammates is that it's ok to trust and rely on others in a professional environment as the work produced by a team can flow much better. We’re all contributing to the same project and would have similar experiences. Everyone has their own skills and can better contribute if they apply their skills in the best way.

What skills have you gained?

What was the biggest roadblock you've overcome?

One problem we ran into early on was making sure everyone was up to speed. Oftentimes, everyone was on a different page. Synchronizing everything was difficult since everyone's work was different, resulting in frequent conflict. A strategy for this was to use a project management board to record what was happening. Another problem was getting used to the tech environment. A solution to this was to try and persevere and learn as much as possible. Eventually, things became easier and we were able to start contributing.

How has company culture guided your work?

The company culture has influenced my work by giving guidelines on how to do things. One of the important aspects of Unadat’s culture is teamwork. Before I was the kind of developer who would try to do things on his own. Now, I hate not working with others. Unadat’s culture also helped me gain more control and influence over my work. That isn’t something expected of a big company.

What was your experience at Unadat?

My experience at Unadat has been great so far. I enjoy the kind of work that I do. My teammates are reliable and easy to talk to. Sean and Dan are supportive and helpful all the time.

What was one big project you worked on during the internship? Can you walk me through the process?

The biggest project I am currently working on is implementing a feature that would allow users to keep track of their mortgages. We've achieved some milestones in the past few weeks. The first thing we needed to do was familiarize ourselves with the technology and concepts. Most of us already had some previous experience but perhaps not enough to make an impact early on. The next part of the process was to add the visual aspects of the feature. We added the things that the user could see so that we could be able to see the effects of operations underneath. The next thing we did was complete the operations that the user can't see. We had a lot to do with that. The next was to implement the logic for the calculations so the necessary values could be displayed. That's our current step. The final thing would be to polish our work and integrate it into the website

What advice would you give to future interns?

Some advice would be to try and contribute as much as possible. Doing only the bare minimum prevents not only your growth but the company’s growth. Also, be open to more challenges as they can help you grow. Socialize with other workers to create a strong bond. Probably the last thing would be to have confidence in yourself and your work, everyone has to start somewhere.