The (real) Internship: catching up with our summer interns
They came, they saw, they interned.
Each summer, Google and Alphabet welcome thousands of interns to our offices around the world. Now that it’s time for the interns to head back to school, we sat down with a few of them to hear about the highlights from their experience.
Jacob Schaider, YouTube TV
Tell us about the work you did this summer:
I worked on an internal tool for YouTube TV. It was an amazing experience seeing how Google engineers solve a problem that hasn't been solved before. I would do it over again in a heartbeat!
What was the highlight of your project/work:
It happened about halfway into my work. I finally accomplished the first part of my project and seeing my work pay off had never felt better. Another highlight was seeing actual Google engineers use my project as an internal tool. Something that I made was actually being used to help improve YouTube TV!
After spending a summer at Google, what does "Googleyness" mean to you?
Googleyness is the possession of qualities that Googlers strive for. It describes a collaborative, ingenious, passionate, friendly, genuine person, and I was privileged to work with so many people like this. My coworkers helped me through every problem I had and took the time to explain the answer. If I was working at my desk during lunch time, they would ask me to join them for food. They wanted to spend time with us outside of work. Googleyness is honestly the best compliment someone can receive.
What was your favorite snack in the microkitchen?
The microkitchen fueled me all day long—I can’t pick a favorite snack! When I first got into work, the only thing on my mind was a bowl of nice hot oatmeal with strawberries. My go-to afternoon snack was Babybel cheese and a cup of chocolate pudding.
What are you going to do next?
I’m a Sophomore year at University of Southern California. I play drums in the marching band here so my fall semester will be taken up by rehearsals, game days, and traveling with the football team. I also plan on getting more involved in the Computer Science community during my spring semester by joining an organization called Lavalab.
Camille Eddy, Robotics, X
Tell us about the work you did this summer:
I worked on hardware projects in the robotics team at X.
What was the highlight of your internship?
I really enjoyed working with my team, and getting an inside view on an X project.
Can you share a particularly special moment from your internship?
As a woman of color in tech, it’s important for me to find role models in other women and people of color. I found that at X, and feel a sense of privilege to work at a company that values inclusion. I sat down with other female engineers, learned from their stories and challenged myself based on their advice.
Who is the most interesting person (X’er or intern) you met during your internship?
Astro Teller, CEO and Captain of Moonshots at X. His vision for the company and his explanation of what moonshots really are inspired me and convinced me that I’m in the right place!
What does "Googleyness" look like at X ?
X’s values center around teamwork and team spirit, doing the right thing not because you have to, but because it fosters an inclusive and safe environment. And of course, being willing to jump in and take a moonshot!
What was your favorite snack in the microkitchen?
I enjoy the Hint water a lot. My favorite flavor is green apple.
What are you going to do next?
I am continuing my internship through the fall, and I look forward to learning more from my team!
Tiam Jaroensri, Research & Machine Intelligence
Tell us about the work you did this summer:
Tuberculosis kills two million people each year. We use convolutional neural networks—the technique used to recognize pictures of cats and dogs—to recognize tuberculosis under a microscope. Tuberculosis cells are hard to find manually, which leads to misdiagnosis of tuberculosis in the developing world.
Outside of your project/work, what was the highlight of Life at Google:
Exploring Northern California. I went backpacking for the first time in Yosemite. The view was breathtaking.
After spending a summer at Google, what does "Googleyness" mean to you?
Googleyness means everyone is always willing to offer a helping hand, no matter how busy they are with their own code.
What was your favorite snack in the microkitchen?
Dried mango, definitely. It reminded me of home in Thailand.
What are you going to do next?
Going back to school to finish my PhD. Hopefully I’ll get to come back to Google one day!
