- Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two or three
sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project entailed.
My project was working as a software engineer intern at Epic Systems in Madison, Wisconsin. My work consisted of developing functionality for doctors and nurses to save custom workspace configurations for common workflows.
- What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the
world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? Write one or
two paragraphs to describe the change or transformation that took place.
One assumption that changed is I realized that good habits are just as important as skill in software engineering. I saw that even good habits unrelated to work can have a positive impact on professional performance. I also realized that soft skills are just as important as hard skills in software engineering. Regarding myself, I learned that I have the discipline needed to sustain good habits over an extended period of time. I also learned how to enjoy independence and adjust well to a new environment.
- What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature
Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those
affect you? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences
completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation.
My work experiences this summer taught me the importance of good development habits as a software engineering professional. This transformation is largely a result of the relationship I had with my assigned mentor, another software engineer on my team. My mentor was assigned with reviewing the code I wrote at various checkpoints during the summer. At the first round of code review my work was functioning properly, but my mentor flagged some parts of my work for syntactical issues such as naming conventions or incomplete documentation. She pointed out that I needed to reference other developer’s work and documentation to get my added functionality working. I realized then how crucial consistent development practices are to achieving a functional project and productive team.
Software engineering is a technical field, so I always assumed that hard skills were more important than soft skills. I learned that the ability to communicate technical creations is just as important as the ability to develop them. Towards the end of the summer, all the interns gave a presentation on their projects to an audience of doctors and nurses, who are the end users of the company’s software products. I put a lot of effort into my presentation and as a result received a great deal of positive feedback and excitement from the audience. Other interns had projects that were just as technically challenging and offered useful solutions, but they did not experience the same engagement from the audience. I realized that one could create a great software solution, but end users or colleagues could not be receptive if the developer is not able to communicate the product. Going forward I will continue to work on my soft skills as well as hard skills.
This summer was my first experience working full time and living on my own. At the start of summer, I would often get very fatigued at work and would not be very active in my life outside of work. To combat this fatigue, I began to exercise more regularly and eat healthier. Overtime, I saw that the discipline needed to sustain these good habits led to a more enriching life outside of work. Similarly, I found that actively staying on top of errands and house chores reduced anxiety and made me more productive. I found that I feel this experience helped me to achieve a more independent, healthy lifestyle.
- Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? Write one or
two paragraphs discussing why this change or development matters and/or relates to your
academic, personal, and/or professional goals and future plans.
As I approach graduation and enter the workforce, I feel it is very important to develop both personally and professionally. My experience with my mentor made me think deeper about all the different factors that affect the quality of software. This experience’s stress on soft skills as well as hard skills has given me a comprehensive idea of how to be an effective employee. These two lessons combined are important to my professional goal of not just being a good developer but a resource and leader to others. Personally, I strive to live an active lifestyle that compliments my professional goals. My focus on healthy habits gives me the energy to focus on my interests outside of work while staying on top of personal responsibilities. I feel this summer internship has been a key step in growing towards a cohesive, productive post-grad life.