Lucy Lee

College: Brooklyn College

Education Level: Senior

Career Interest: Software Development and Video Game Development

I am a computer science student who wants to help others in every way I can. I always strive to present my ideas in clear, easy-to-understand formats, and highly value communication of the same level. I have a deep-rooted interest in environmental science, and hope to see social justice and climate justice prevail in my lifetime. I enjoy playing video games to wind down, and in the future, plan to develop my own MMORPG with an indie team.

What was your role?

On the first day of the internship, the App Dev team set up local repositories on Google Cloud shell to establish a connection to Unadat's source repository, and created test deployments using the YAML files that CTO Dan provided for us. After a few bootcamps of reviewing PHP and JavaScript, the next team assignment was to figure out how we wanted to port Unadat over to mobile. I put together a powerpoint on the three main types of applications: web apps, mobile apps, and lastly, progressive web apps, as well as a list of popular frameworks being used today. (You can find it here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1I0zV9Fc90IBh3vPSLhqfiyPnRYVjL_doR4T4mTabAc8/edit?usp=sharing). While doing my research, I found many articles and documentation on PWAs that convinced me that this was the direction Unadat should head in, and presented my case to Sean & Dan. Because I ran on a different schedule from the rest of the team, I shared the powerpoint in the designated Microsoft Teams channel for the rest of my team to review the following morning. With my push, the team decided on the PWA approach. Over the course of the following five weeks, our 60/40 project has been to prepare Unadat for the conversion into a PWA for improved mobile viewability and use. While my teammates have been working on porting over the pages into HTML and implementing dark mode functionality, I have been setting up the environment for both Windows and Android using Capacitor, writing a service worker and manifest for Capacitor to recognize Unadat as a PWA, and figuring out how to get the network to recognize the manifest. I have also been exploring cookies and HTTP headers, under Dan's guidance, as an alternative to the service worker's cache.

What did you work on?

I was working on a 70/30 PowerPoint on the Unadat deck by updating it.

What was the impact of your project?

The goal of my project is to: 1) increase the discoverability of Unadat's website on search engines and most importantly, in the app store; 2) give the user the option to install Unadat's website as an app, both on desktop and on phone; 3) allow Unadat's website to run a cached version of the site without an internet connection, thanks to the help of a service worker.

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

During my time here, I've familiarized myself with progressive web apps (PWAs), worked with Capacitor, Webpack and Workbox, and delved into the basics of mobile app development, specifically on the Android platform, using Android Studio. Before, I'd only worked with HTML, CSS and basic JavaScript; here at Unadat, CTO Dan walked my team through the PHP files being used on the Unadat site, as well as more advanced JavaScript functions. From my teammates, I learned that different people have different learning styles; what came more easily to me did not come as naturally for others, and vice versa. I also had to learn how to explain concepts differently in order to help my teammates understand what I was trying to do, and what I envisioned for our long-term goals; this ended up improving my communication skills.

What skills have you gained?

During my time here, I`ve familiarized myself with progressive web apps (PWAs), worked with Capacitor, Webpack and Workbox, and delved into the basics of mobile app development, specifically on the Android platform, using Android Studio. Before, I`d only worked with HTML, CSS and basic JavaScript; here at Unadat, CTO Dan walked my team through the PHP files being used on the Unadat site, as well as more advanced JavaScript functions.

What was the biggest roadblock you've overcome?

For the whole team, it was our first time working with Capacitor and doing mobile app development. Following the Capacitor tutorial was simple enough, but there were some features of Android Studio that interfered with properly installing Android in the Unadat repository. It took a couple of days to troubleshoot my own issues, as well as an additional week to help out my team with theirs. Because PWAs are a relatively new technology, many of the error messages my teammates came across were undocumented, setting us back further. Starting over from scratch and carefully taking my time to comb through documentation fixed the majority of my issues.

How has company culture guided your work?

Sean & Dan enforce a Scrum framework at Unadat, encouraging a functionality-first, details-later mindset, with routine check-in's and a very involved workflow. Scrum forced me to abandon my perfectionist mentality early on in the internship, and focus on pushing out a working prototype, first and foremost.Team members were always available to discuss with and bounce ideas off of; I felt significantly more productive whenever I was able to move forward together with my team.

What was your experience at Unadat?

Thanks to the CUNY Recovery Corps, I was given the opportunity to do my very first internship at Unadat. My experience has been nothing short of welcoming. Sean & Dan always make sure to hear out everyone's concerns, check in with everyone, and accommodate for any time constraints or last-minute emergencies. Working together with my peers and meeting them in-person was a joy.

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

After my team decided on the PWA approach, our 60/40 project has been to prepare Unadat for the conversion into a PWA for improved mobile viewability and use. While my teammates have been working on porting over the pages into HTML and implementing dark mode functionality, I have been setting up the environment for both Windows and Android using Capacitor, writing a service worker and manifest for Capacitor to recognize Unadat as a PWA, and figuring out how to get the network to recognize the manifest. I have also been exploring cookies and HTTP headers, under Dan's guidance, as an alternative to the service worker's cache.

What advice would you give to future interns?

To future interns, Make the most of your time here. Think of those who will be using Unadat — you are helping others to overcome a huge stressor in life: financial debt. Your work here is important. Take away as much as you can from this experience, and build a strong network with the people you meet at Unadat. And most of all, be willing to make mistakes and ask for help. Good luck!