ThoughtWire hires a new group of interns every term, providing opportunities for learning, collaboration, and professional development. This winter, ThoughtWire had the pleasure of working alongside students from the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, and Seneca College. These individuals offered their keen insight throughout the term, and greatly benefitted not only their respective teams, but all of ThoughtWire as a whole. (Wanda Song)
In the second part of this term’s internship series, we will be highlighting Wanda Song and Karina Sang, who were our Software Engineering interns for the past 4 months.
What are the top skills you’ve learned while working at ThoughtWire?
Wanda: I learned how to work in an agile environment, which was a really fascinating experience. I also learned a lot about frontend web dev and Javascript testing frameworks, and was able to grow my understanding of these concepts.
Karina: During my time at ThoughtWire I learned how to work both independently and collaboratively. I’ve had the chance to do a lot of pair programming as well as complete projects on my own. This diversity helped to keep the role fresh and fun!
What was your favourite part of your job?
Wanda: I really enjoyed being able to contribute to actual projects that will be used by customers, and make an impact. This was very rewarding for me.
Karina: My favourite part of my job was doing pair programming! I liked this because I was able to learn a lot from my programming partner, and be in a collaborative working environment.
What were your favourite moments from your co-op term?
Wanda: My favourite moment of my co-op was when we integrated an entire Javascript testing framework into our project so that we could finally have automated testing!
Karina: Receiving a huge box of chocolate from Vinopa was very exciting.
What advice would you give to future co-op students?
Wanda: If I could give advice to future co-op students, I would stress the importance of not being afraid to explore new things. Co-op terms are an excellent opportunity to learn as much as you can, so its important to make the most of it.
Karina: Working as a software engineer requires a lot of self-learning, be patient while debugging and working with new technology!
What was your experience like as an intern during COVID-19?
Wanda: Since everything was remote, I never got to meet my colleagues in office sadly. This was a shame, but not having to commute was nice!
Karina: Working remotely makes working less stressful, as you can do your work from the comfort of your own home. However, this is also less fun because we all miss the actual interactions between people. Thankfully, through virtual meetings and social calls, I was still able to gain a sense of community during my time here!
How do you as an intern feel that ThoughtWire approaches diversity, equity, and inclusion? Can you give an example of how your team made you feel a sense of inclusion, belonging, and equity?
Wanda: I think ThoughtWire is a very inclusive place. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of women in our team - since on my last coop I was the only woman. There’s also a great range of people from different cultures, and I never felt out of place because of who I am.
Karina: When we were assigning stories in our sprint meetings, someone always made sure to ask if we had any stories for me, which made me feel very included. My team also did not create stories dedicated to me because they said I can take on stories that full time software developers do, which made me feel a strong sense of equity, as well!
We thank Wanda and Karina for all of the hard work and success they achieved over the past few months! Looking for a place where you can also contribute, innovate and be inspired? We think you’ll love it here. Check out ThoughtWire's career page.
