Here at SnapLogic, we launched our very first Summer Internship program. This summer we employed five interns, each working in a different area of the company: Rakesh Dammalapati, a Professional Services Intern; Dave Gan, an Engineering Intern; Gracie Walters, a Human Resources (HR) Intern; Michael Westra, a Business Development (BD) Intern; and Natalie Wiser, a Marketing Intern.
All five of these interns got to be part of an up-and-coming startup company in Silicon Valley. They not only gained that well desired real world experience, but the internship also came with a lot of profitable perks. The interns were given their own managers in which they were able to establish a professional relationship that taught them about the company’s values of innovation, intensity and integrity. They were also given the opportunity to meet with some of the top executives of the company who shared details of their past career paths. Each executive shared valuable stories, advice and resources that will give the interns a huge advantage when they start making decisions about their own careers.
With the summer coming to an end, we asked our interns to reflect on their past 12 weeks spent here at SnapLogic. Here is what they said:
- How did you come to learn about SnapLogic?
“One of our professors at the University of San Francisco, Greg Benson, is also the chief scientist of SnapLogic. He brought the Internet of Things project to our senior project class. My partner and I chose his project and that was when we were first introduced to SnapLogic. We came in to the office every Friday to meet with Greg and work on the sensors in the meeting rooms. As part of the project, I worked on the code of the platform and used the Snaps to build the pipeline and collect the sensor data. Greg and the project are the reason that I decided to come back to work for SnapLogic this summer.” – Dave Gan, Engineering Intern
“I came to know about SnapLogic through a friend from Hyderabad, India who had already joined the company. Ever since I heard about the company I was constantly checking back in with SnapLogic to see if there were any summer internship opportunities I could apply for. When one finally opened up, I jumped at the chance to work here.” – Rakesh Dammalapati, Professional Services Intern
- What did you expect coming into SnapLogic? Did any of these expectations change?
“I thought the working environment was going to be similar to Pied Piper in the show Silicon Valley, and thus far it has. The work is very fast paced, yet SnapLogic’s relaxed culture helps balance the workload. I was not expecting to get fed four times a week and play ping pong for an hour everyday after work.” – Michael Westra, BD Intern
” I expected a goal of the internship to be about learning new knowledge in computer science, as well as learning how to code in more of an industrial standard, as opposed to what I have been used to in an academic setting. After meeting with Greg many times and going over a lot of codes, the expectations of my projects were continually expanding, and we were always coming across new things I could learn from.” – Dave Gan, Engineering Intern
- What were some of your contributions or accomplishments while at SnapLogic?
“I have helped Jen get the system integrator program off the ground by developing a process that is repeatable. I have also developed relationships with our client partners at the SIs, allowing SnapLogic to spread throughout their various accounts.” – Michael Westra, BD Intern
“I contributed a Developed Sales dashboard to auto generate SoW and manage MSA agreements. I also developed Snaps for PGP signing and verification for one of our prime customers – Adobe.” – Rakesh Dammalapati, Professional Services Intern
“I’m working on the POC (proof of concept) for a new idea for the platform. Hopefully it can be a good start for the final product. In addition to my current project, since I was working on the IoT before, I went to the AWS Summit and AT&T Tech Expo. There I learned more about how the IoT is used in the real world and how to help the company get involved into the IoT area. Overall, I hope to contribute anything I can for the company.” – Dave Gan, Engineering Intern
“I was in charge of all of the social media for the SnapLogic marketing department. I also was in charge of our blog series: coordinating and scheduling posts, editing, and contributing occasionally. I also assisted with everyone in marketing, such as the podcast series for Product Marketing, coordinating materials for Field Marketing, and much more.” – Natalie Wiser, Marketing Intern
“While at SnapLogic I have contributed a variety of things, from assisting with the onboarding and recruiting all the way to organizing company volunteer and wellness events. Whether it be from scheduling interviews with potential candidates to designing T-shirts celebrating our Top Workplace award, I was exposed to a huge variety of what goes into a successful company’s HR program.” – Gracie Walters, HR Intern
- What did you find successful about the internship program?
“I learned so much from this internship! Not only did I learn more about marketing, I learned a little bit about data analytics, sales, software development, software engineering, UX/UI, and many other facets of SnapLogic. Everyone was so helpful and knowledgable when I would ask them questions. I’m thankful to gain so much knowledge at my first internship and to be in an atmosphere where I can learn a little bit of everything. Not all companies provide that flexibility.” – Natalie Wiser, Marketing Intern
“I found a couple things very successful about SnapLogic’s internship program. First of all my manager was extremely committed to making sure I was having the most beneficial experience possible throughout the entire summer. So I knew I was never going to be neglected or forgotten about. Also, the biweekly meetings gave a very unique opportunity for us as interns to be able sit down and have conversations with the top executives of the company. We actually got to discuss how they got to where they are today and address any concerns we had about our own futures.” – Gracie Walters, HR Intern
- What were the key factors that you enjoyed about the internship?
“Apart from the work, I really liked the culture in the office. It feels like a family. Almost everyone knows each other and however busy people are, they always seem to take some time out of their day to greet each other with a smile. Also, Friday Snappy Hours and daily ping pong made this internship an even more enjoyable experience.” – Rakesh Dammalapati, Professional Services Intern
“I loved the company culture of SnapLogic; everyone would make an effort to introduce themselves and get to know me. It is very much like a Snappy family, which I think is hard to find in a company these days. I also enjoyed how flexible my position was – I got to wear many different hats rather than just doing one specific job the whole time.” – Natalie Wiser, Marketing Intern
- What can you take away from your experience at SnapLogic?
“I thought the intern meetings were very helpful getting to hear from the execs at SnapLogic. Some important takeaways are…
- Do what you say you are going to do
- All successful people endure the grind
- Relationships are huge in building a personal network
- A leader is successful when they lead from the front, not micromanaging in the back.” – Michael Westra, BD Intern
“There is so much out there to learn! I think one of the most important qualities you can find in a potential employee is their desire to learn and improve themselves. Even the senior executives learn something new everyday. You’ll never know everything and be satisfied.” – Natalie Wiser, Marketing Intern
- Do you have any advice for fellow interns on how to make the most of an internship experience?
“Three things: Make sure you reach out and introduce yourself to everyone you can, do not be afraid to ask questions when things are unclear, and try to develop good habits such as eating healthy because all the food in the kitchen is very tempting.” – Michael Westra, BD Intern
“It is important to keep in mind that no jobs are too small, especially in a startup environment. Be confident in your work and decisions, don’t ask permission for every little thing. Be organized and balanced.” – Gracie Walters, HR Intern
All in all, the SnapLogic internship program turned out to be a huge success. As you can see, all these interns gained worthwhile knowledge through their varying experiences and through exposure to unique perspectives within the company. But, the interns were not the only ones that benefited from this summer. SnapLogic was able to gain five sources of fresh and innovative ideas. The interns provided high quality, relevant support that helped contribute, in many ways, to the increasing productivity of our company. We are very thankful to all our interns this summer and wish them all the best on their future endeavors.
To learn more about SnapLogic jobs and internships, check out our new #SnapCulture presentation, our recent Top Workplace award, apply for our open jobs, or visit the Life at SnapLogic page.
