Name: Emily Scheerer

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

Major(s)/Minor(s): Computer Science

Expected Graduation Year: December 2014

Briefly describe your internship, co-op, research, or service-learning opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.

The APL summer intern program is very well organized, with tours organized for the interns. Each department within APL also holds its own tours and events. My day-to-day tasks involved working on two different project teams. My first project involved developing an assessment tool for cyber military exercises. My second involved writing a tool to detect executable content using machine learning techniques.

Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.

As an alumna of the CWIT scholars program, I had an industry mentor during my junior year. She reviewed my resume and setup a mock interview which helped prepare me for my interview at APL. At the start of my senior year, I attended the career fair and gave my resume to Scott Almes, a UMBC alumni who was representing APL at the career fair. From there, I filled out an online application, then completed several phone interviews with various APL groups.

Which of the following resources did you use to find your current experience?

Networking Events (Corporate Visibility Days, Info Sessions, Arts with A Purpose, etc.)

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?

I've had a number of summer internships, and one of the big differences between those internships and my experience at APL was being able to work on multiple projects. I was able to work on two different projects, which gave me a great, broad taste of the company and the work that takes place there.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?

When interviewing, use the STAR method. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. Have four or five stories that all meet the STAR method and address the common questions like how you respond to challenges or an example of your leadership. Being prepared for interview questions will make you feel more comfortable and confident. You can even take them in on notecards - you're expected to bring a folder with your resumes, and you can store your notes there.

- Congratulations on your accomplishments, Emily!