At my internship at San Diego Futures Foundation, I worked alongside classmates sorting recycled electronics for reusability and saalvage. I got the opportunity to learn about hardware and software and I gained a lot of experience in working with my hands. I also got to practice and participate in my first interview.
During my first few weeks, I learned how to create a work system to evenly distribute the workload amongst my coworkers. Most of the time, we only worked on sorting through bulk electronics, but during other tasks such as inventory management, device regurbishment, and cleaning, we worked together to divide up the jobs to quickly complete our assignments. Some of these systems involved a similar idea to a bucket brigade, meaning that we would take in one device, perform a certain job, then pass it on for the next person to do their job. I enjoyed being able to work with people I am comfortable with, and we shared a lot of interests that helped us get through the day with an exciting and fun experience.
With SDFF being my first internship, I quickly learned what it was like to work with others, and it strengthened my ability to collaborate. This was the first step I took to strengthening my experience and to gain skills that will help me throughout my journey as a computer scientist. I understand how important it is to work on a job with peers, and how I should be open to collaborative work in the future.
