The Non-Tech Side of an Undergraduate’s Tech-Internship Experience
Two days back, I saw my doctor-sister seated and blogging about her internship — at least about the 6 months she has completed so far. So today, while I was staring at blank space with nothing to do, I thought maybe I should as well. Unfortunately/fortunately, I do not have interesting episodes relating to blood and scalpels to tell you, but some things do need to be in writing.
Okay, so to start off with, our faculty has a mandatory 6-month industrial training requirement for third-year undergraduates. This is also why they are named sandwiched degrees — because you have the industry experience sandwiched between academic semesters. Unfortunately, my industrial training happened from 2020 October to 2021 April — amidst the pandemic. So opportunities were less. Tough competition. And unstable environments.
But all thanks to the Almighty, I managed to get into WSO2 for the said internship — and boy was I excited! As most of you might probably know, WSO2 is one of the coolest places you could ever work in. For those of you wondering what the hype is really about, trust me, it is one of those work environments that is so pleasant to just be in!
But here’s the thing. If we have ever had a deep convo, you might already know that tech or development was not really where I started. When I was 17 years old, I started off with a curriculum that is nowhere close to what I am studying/doing now. But after a long chain of events (which you might also know about if we are really close) I ended up in this field! And yes, I am truly happy and grateful for that!
So here’s the deal. Although I was super duper excited for my internship, I really was not that confident — TBH. Because, regardless of how well you are doing in life, if your path has not been straightforward, you see yourself doubting your capabilities. The inherent fear in your mind — “Am I good enough?”. Plus, I was not one of those people with a fancy boatload of dev experience in my pocket either. I was your ordinary newbie, trying to venture into the corporate world with a little experience.
Plus-plus, I have grown up to people telling me (and they still do) that I should instead consider getting into lecturing or management positions — because my personality seems strong for that? I do not think bad of those who say that cause I know that your intentions are pure, and I actually am really grateful for the confidence you have in me!
So when I got assigned to THE Ballerina team at WSO2 — okay pause for a moment. For the non-tech people, Ballerina is this exciting new cloud-native programming language being written at WSO2! YES! They are WRITING A PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE and do check it out. For the tech people who do not know of Ballerina— WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING MATE?
Yeah, so continuing, I got to work alongside the UH-MAZING Ballerina team during my internship. Hence, for the past 6 months, I was in touch with a super-smart set of people on a daily basis. Oh, wait I think I forgot to tell you that my OTHER sister is an associate lead in the same team. Well, yeah. She has been there for the last 4 years or so, IINM? And I think you can imagine her reaction to her younger (cooler) sister being assigned to her team — the one place she got to be Sumayya-less (the above GIF is maybe kinda close?)! :3
Okay, let me get to the purpose of this blog because I just realized that I have blabbered about a lot of irrelevant things for a long time. But hey, you need to build up to the story right — so I am not even sorry about it!
Yeah, so working with a smart set of people, specifically Mentor, I actually expected to be “meh” at work. And was even more scared that I would embarrass my sister and probably ruin the reputation she has built for herself as well. Those on my frequently-contacted list might know the endless jokes we made about this to hide my worry.
But here’s what is cool about WSO2! THE PEOPLE! They are incredibly supportive, cooperative, and they’ve always got your back!
My entire internship was WFH! But from the very first day, I felt like I was a permanent part of the team — and my stupid+not-so-stupid questions and doubts were answered with such patience, even when my Mentor had a million other stuff to do.
If I compare my day 1 to day 180 at WSO2, I have learned SO MUCH! From brushing up on the fundamentals of development to learning advanced concepts and best practices in coding, man did I grow! But this is not even the most important!
Because above all, what I learned from my team at WSO2 is the non-tech qualities of a professional! To be humble and helpful. To teach someone with care and patience — even if it is the simplest of things. To be punctual and graceful. But more importantly, to treat EVERYONE well!
So as I am marking the end of my internship-semester, let me tell you that my greatest takeaway from WSO2 has not been purely technical! I have not grown only as a developer, I have grown as a person as well! And I am incredibly grateful for that, and I always will be!
And last but not least, if you are one of those undergraduates wondering what to do with your life, just follow your heart with confidence! Because somewhere out there, you might come across an environment in which you can learn and grow, and you no longer will doubt yourself!
Much love,
Gracias!
