Name: Valerie Lee

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: The National Aquarium in Baltimore

Position Title: Aquarist Intern

Major(s)/Minor(s): Biological Sciences

Current Class Level: Senior

Work Term: Summer 2019

Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.

At the National Aquarium, I was responsible for the day-to-day tasks of maintaining 4 exhibit tanks and several backup tanks. These tasks included taking parameters of all tanks every morning, cleaning tanks, performing water changes, performing backwashes on filters, and preparing diets for my animals. I would also assist with small procedures on animals, such as debridement of a wound on one of the turtles. This is a procedure where essentially I would capture and hold her while the vets cleaned the wound.

Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?

I heard from the Career Center that the National Aquarium was looking for UMBC students to hire. So, I had my resume reviewed and learned how to write a cover letter for my application. After doing that, I submitted my application and did a phone interview before being offered a position.

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

I loved learning about the animals I was working with and how the systems they lived in functioned. Even the most mundane task was enjoyable for me. I'm actually still there as a volunteer currently and I'm looking at becoming an aquarist post-graduation. I'm about to take a class in the biology department on the physiology of marine animals to gain more insight into marine and estuarine animals to help with my career search.

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

I helped to maintain the exhibits that hundreds of visitors come to and appreciate every day. By doing this, I know that I was part of the public learning and appreciating our natural world as well as what animals need our help.

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

Even if it's scary, go for it. I applied to the National Aquarium last summer and I wasn't offered a position, but I still applied this year. Because I took the chance, I was offered the position of a lifetime and a new career focus.

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Name: Kulsoom Rizvi

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Discover Financial Services

Position Title: Business Technology Intern

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

Current Class Level: Senior

Work Term: Summer 2019

Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.

This summer I interned at Discover Financial Services where I was placed on the web platform team. Every day I worked with my mentor and the rest of the team to learn how to design the backend web systems using newly adapted technologies. I spent a lot of time learning the different frameworks and technology needed to create secure code to ensure the financial institution is protecting user credentials and sensitive information. I also worked with security applications to incorporate tools needed to encrypt and tightly control access to sensitive information.

Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?

I obtained my internship through the UMBC Chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) sponsorship which enabled me to attend the WE18 Conference and Career Fair in Minneapolis!

During the 3 day conference, I got the chance to interview with many innovative companies, and in the end I decided to accept Discover’s offer.

Leading up to the Career Fair in Minneapolis, I practiced my behavioral and technical interview skills through online resources and by attending on-campus Career Center events with various companies.

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

I really enjoyed Discover’s culture of enthusiasm for mentoring and especially how approachable everyone is. As a group and individually, the interns got to speak to the CEO, CIO, as well as VP’s and directors. I took full advantage of this by reaching out to executives and other engineers  to improve my networking skills and develop my career path. The best part was learning technology that I would otherwise not have been exposed to and apply that knowledge to projects that the team is working on! But, the biggest takeaway from the summer has been learning that I am able to overcome self-doubt and fear of failure, an issue among women in technology!

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

The projects I worked on helped the company adopt and transition to new technology to help improve customer experience and security.

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

If you want to work for a company that leads in innovation, you have to first believe in yourself, practice and prepare, and then put yourself out there (it’s scary but totally worth it!). Get your resume reviewed by professionals and take advantage of recruiters on-campus to seek career advice - they’re in the industry and have plenty insight! Lastly, join an engineering/STEM organization to learn more about the field and network with engineers who will help you develop your career and advocate for you!

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Cybersecurity workforce skills gap rises to over 4 million

Name: Bianca Monge

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Leidos

Position Title: Cybersecurity Analyst Intern

Major(s)/Minor(s): Information Systems

Current Class Level: Senior

Work Term: Summer 2019

Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.

During my internship, I worked within the Cyber & SIGINT department of the Intel group as a Cybersecurity Analyst Intern. My project over the summer was to research a product pitched to our company that would be able to prevent software memory corruption attacks. My team and I researched, analyzed, and tested the product to document its effectiveness and faults. Not only did we test its functionality as a cyber hardening product, but we also looked at if and how it could be misused in the wrong hands. The areas of cybersecurity that my day-to-day responsibilities entailed were buffer overflow attacks, reverse engineering, binary analysis, vulnerability/exploit testing, and malware analysis.

Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?

I found the internship position listing on Glassdoor, which linked me to the Leidos website in October of last year. I was contacted shortly after applying to come in for an interview, and not long after that I was told that I got the internship.

Although I found and obtained my position outside of UMBC, I would highly recommend going to the Career Fair and attending recruiter workshops to get your name and face out there. I did, and it definitely gave me a chance to practice interviews and become more comfortable interacting with recruiters. 

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

The people and work that I get to do. The people I met were all so intelligent and had so much knowledge, experience, and advice to share. I felt like I always learned something new by saying hi to someone new everyday. Having that great environment around me, and finally getting the chance to do real work in the field I love, was a dream come true.

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

The documentation of all the research my team and I did on the product was actually going to be sent to higher ups in order to help them make their final decision on whether or not Leidos should use the product within their systems and/or relay the product to Leidos customers.

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

Take advantage of the Career Fair and technical/recruiter workshops. Even if you do not get any responses back, it is networking experience to prepare for the day when you do land that interview.

During interviews, don't shy away from telling the interviewer what you aren't the most well-versed in. It's important for both you and them so that they place you in a position they think you'll enjoy and be good at. Also, if you're passionate about a certain subject, express it!

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