This summer I was grateful to find an internship opportunity at AvidXchange. I had applied to over 50 companies in two days when I came home from college (not to mention about 50-100 more at career fairs) and decided that this looked like my best option. However, after receiving my offer letter I began to worry a bit. My expectations coming in were not too high—considering I had no idea what to expect. AvidXchange’s internship program was brand new and I was one of their first interns! Because of my inexperience, I expected that I would be pretty much useless. I was told that there would also be a graduate student intern with me as well. I thought that if I had to work with someone so experienced that I would definitely be looked down upon, and the other interns would just do all the work.
The day finally came for me to drive up to the office, and as soon as I turned right onto Metropolitan Avenue I felt a rush of excitement flow through me. The area was beautiful and just the kind of lively atmosphere that I desired. I drove up five parking garage levels only to get lost, but I finally found the office after calling my recruiter to get directions from inside the building. However, I was given such a warm welcome and met some of the coolest people ever that I forgot about being lost. Our supervisor even took us out to lunch on the first day! I was blown away by everyone’s excitement for the new interns when the CEO and other leaders announced us starting at the weekly staff meeting!
What happened in the next two weeks is too much to write in a blog post. But, to keep it simple, I learned more about computer science than I imagined I could in two short weeks. Most of my summer goals regarding computer science were accomplished by the end of the first few weeks. I learned the basics of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Visual Studio, C#, SQL, and lots more! I also got to learn through numerous presentations how a software company actually runs. My brain was just overflowing with all this knowledge, and I felt like I would forget it all and never get to apply it here. I found out soon enough that I was about to use everything I just learned to accomplish a real world task.
We were finally assigned our project after a few weeks of PAID training (not bad, huh?). I didn’t know if I would be able to accomplish it, but with the help of my fellow interns and co-workers we pulled through! Not only did I apply everything that I had learned my freshman year at Georgia Tech and the first couple weeks of this internship, I was able to help the OTHER interns with things they weren’t totally comfortable with as well! I finally felt that I was at the same level as everyone else and belonged somewhere.
The big highlights of this internship haven’t been what I’ve learned in regards to my major; they have been what I’ve experienced through AvidXchange’s culture, people, and core values. I can’t emphasize enough how much I’ve grown this summer intellectually, professionally, and personally—thanks to everyone’s help. I’ve decided that this career is the right path for me and I don’t ever want to give it up.