Henry Suarez

College: City College of New York

Education Level: Junior

Career Interest: Software Engineering/ Data Science

Starting with my elevator pitch, I'm a 3rd year computer science major at the city college of New York. I'm leaning towards a career in software engineering/ data analysis and would love a career in Edtech or Big tech. Before I started my tech journey in college I went to a technical high school where I spent most of my time working towards obtaining an airframe and powerplant license to work on aircraft maintenance. I was usually top of the class with a selection of others and was very close to finishing all of my class rotations to be eligible to take my exams which would of given me my license. However, Covid shut down my school a few weeks before I was eligible and since no one knew how long it would be closed I made the choice to go to college and it's where I've been at since. (I made the right choice, it took 2 years for the school to reopen and the career choices were not that great). Another big thing about me is I have a knack for learning. I enjoy hearing new ideas, seeing new processes and just listening to anything in general. If someone has something to teach whatever it is I'll usually want to listen. Currently, if I'm not trying to push my technical skills I'm trying to learn Portuguese and get better cooking skills. Last thing I would say is I'd might describe myself as Ambitious. I'm always applying for new opportunities, always working on improving interviewing skills and constantly trying to attend network events/ office visits/ seminars/ hackathons/ summits.. etc. If there's something I can find to attend in my free time, I'm registering.

What was your role?

Beta-tester

What did you work on?

What was the impact of your project?

My project right now is the history editing feature. The impact of this project should allow for a better user experience as they`ll be able to edit any payments they made if they made a mistake or need a readjustment on their payments. This is in my eyes a pretty important feature because it would cause frustration to a user if they make a misinput and can no longer fix what they`ve worked on. One of the future mentioned projects will be the avatar selection which would impact user engagement. Users will be able to select an avatar and have it displayed to them. Another project mentioned is badges. This also falls under user engagement which would reward users with badges that display what they`ve achieved like inviting their first friend or paying off their first debt.

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

What skills have you gained?

While I haven`t started the work week officially yet the skills that I`ve began to pick up are a better understand of teamwork, communication and the Scrum process. As well as using the Google Cloud system, so far it`s just been light exposure to this but I`m sure it`ll pick up soon. When I do begin to get into the flow of work I`ll be should be learning PHP, JavaScript, system design, communication and problem solving.

What was the biggest roadblock you've overcome?

So far there hasn`t been any major roadblocks for me. The only thing I can think about right now would be how I`ll begin my task. At the moment I can`t see how I`ll start but, I haven`t given it enough time as of yet for me to declare this as a roadblock. Other than that I would say my time management will need some work, not because I procrastinate or spend to long on other task but because I`m pretty loaded this semester with classes, hw assignments, fellowships, meetings with my advisors, applications, mentorship program, and technical interview prep. Trying to fit this all in the same week along with working with Unadat will sure put me to the test but I feel very confident I could handle it.

How has company culture guided your work?

What was your experience at Unadat?

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

What advice would you give to future interns?

My onboarding advice to Unadat would be to perhaps have some documentation available at the very beginning or maybe a demo of a previous cohort so that we can see the process. I only say this because I`m the type of person that reads the description of something before watching/reading. I don`t like going into something being unsure or feeling unprepared. Not saying that it`s Unadat`s fault for this, it`s the type of person I am I always carry a small notebook with me with my thoughts, questions, ideas and general notes to keep me prepared for class or meetings. My onboarding advice to future interns would be to relax a little. Onboarding always tends to feel a bit overwhelming as you`re learning about the company and hearing about the projects you`ll be working on. But, everything will be explained and you`re in the same boat as your team if you ever need clarification, help or anything.