By Alyssa Foy | Reporter
Baylor’s Association for Computer Machinery (ACM) hosted an internship panel for students Tuesday night as part of the School of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) Week.
The panel featured engineering and computer science major students that had previously held corporate internships or participated in undergraduate research.
Panelists shared their summer or semester internship experiences with attendees, including offering advice for applications and interviews. Additionally, attendees were able to ask their own questions regarding the internship search, as well as company and project-specific questions.
Companies that panelists had interned with included Baylor Scott & White Health, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Gardner Denver. Research opportunities represented on the panel included work at the Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative, also known as the BRIC, a space near Baylor campus dedicated to research and science labs.
ACM Chair, San Antonio senior Stephanie Alvord said she was most interested to hear more from students who had held corporate internships, as her previous experience lies mainly in computer science research.
“A lot of people who tend to do research tend to go to grad school, instead of straight into the workforce, versus people who get internships at actual companies,” Alvord said. “Those companies sometimes will give offers at the end of the summer.”
Internships can be a way for students to be able to find their interests and prepare for their careers after graduation.
Participating in undergraduate research can help students decide whether to go to graduate school. Similarly, working or interning for a company while still in college can provide students with significant networking and career opportunities for after graduation.
Multiple students on the ECS panel had already accepted full-time job offers for after their graduation in May, or summer internships for this upcoming summer.
Dallas senior Darius Sherman has had three internships so far during college for software engineering and has now accepted an offer for a fourth internship this upcoming summer as an Offering Manager Intern with IBM.
“It’s all a numbers game for internships…You just have to apply and put yourself out there,” Sherman said. “During the interviews, that’s the really stressful part. You just have to remember there’s a reason why they’re interviewing you.”
The ECS Internship Panel was part of ECS week, a weeklong series of events such as BURST research poster presentations, networking, and VR game night. The week concludes Saturday, with Wacode, a 12-hour hackathon on campus.
