My Internship Experience at UDI

Back in May, on the morning of my first day with UDI, I drove to work feeling so nervous for the months that lay ahead.  I tried to picture what the next ten weeks would look like, and the same questions flitted through my mind over and over again.  What kind of work will I be doing?  Who will I be working with?  What if I don’t know how to do something, or if I do something wrong?

Now that I’ve reached the end of my internship with UDI, I realize there was nothing to be nervous about.  My experience at UDI was nothing but positive.  Throughout my internship, I was surrounded by welcoming and supportive mentors who allowed me to learn about the different aspects of an IT business, test my technical skills on real projects, and grow as a professional.

One of the highlights of my summer at UDI was having the opportunity to experience the many different sides of this business.  Many internships are designed to keep students focused on one task or one department, ultimately limiting what they can learn and gain from their work.  During my time at UDI, that certainly was not the case.  Even as an intern, no topic felt off limits, and my questions and curiosity were encouraged, not shut down.  From sitting in on finance meetings to shadowing a cloud engineer to listening to the help desk conversations in the cubicles next to me, I had the chance to absorb as much information as I could.   Moreover, witnessing UDI’s response to the lightning-fast advancements in AI and their innovative approach to using this new technology in a way that is secure was both eye-opening and exciting.

This summer, I also had the chance to work on several projects where I was able to put the technical skills I learned at school to use.  Some things I worked on over the course of ten weeks are writing PowerShell scripts to rename and move SharePoint files in bulk, building automated workflows, and reorganizing business SOPs and process documents into a centralized and categorized file structure.  I feel it was a privilege that my mentors trusted me to complete these tasks and gave me agency over my work.

Nevertheless, the most valuable lessons I learned at UDI had nothing to do with technology.  Learning about VM migrations and switch configurations was super cool.  Seeing how data analytics impacted business decisions in real time was also fascinating.  Even so, the lessons that I will carry with me beyond this summer came from something else entirely.  I learned about patience and understanding from listening to the conversations of the help desk engineers.  I learned about the importance of quality communication from my mentors Brian, Alex, and Chad.  I learned about building community and creating a welcoming workplace environment from every person I encountered in the office.

As the summer went on, it became clear to me that UDI’s success was not built only on the foundation of its talented employees, but also on that of genuinely good people.  At the end of these incredibly fast ten weeks, I couldn’t be more grateful to all the people who made it happen.  It was truly an honor to work here, and there is so much about it that I will miss when I go back to school soon.  This has certainly been a summer I won’t forget.