Interns of Silicon Valley 2019 (Part 1)
Compiled by Kendrick Umstattd
Summertime is in full swing and along with the sunny weather comes intern season in Silicon Valley and other tech hubs across the U.S. As is tradition, we are kicking off the 2019 edition of “Interns of Silicon Valley”, a series of profiles about interns from across the tech industry.
In this first installment of the series, we’ve asked four software engineering interns at Google to share their stories — from discovering a passion for computer science in a class taken on a whim, to serving in the U.S. Navy, to find the courage to ask for help.
Meghan Wilkens (she/her)| gTech Users & Products Intern, Google
School: University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill
Meghan was raised in a military family and traveled all over the world, living in multiple countries throughout her childhood. She fell in love with the feeling of being completely immersed in a culture different from her own. After serving in the US Navy for 9 years, she is now pursuing an MBA at UNC Chapel Hill and completing an internship at Google.
“Upon graduating from high school in Guam, I went on to earn a bachelors degree in Advertising at Marquette University and secure a job at an advertising firm. But it didn’t take long for ‘cabin fever’ to set in. My thirst for adventure drove me to follow in the footsteps of my family, and I commissioned as a Supply Corps Officer in the US Navy, deploying early on in my career.
I learned management, operations, and logistics skills every step along the way. I also had the opportunity to lead sailors and teach them methods of problem-solving that started out here in Silicon Valley. After marrying, having two children, and completing nearly 9 years in the service, I am moving towards a transition into the tech industry, working on my MBA from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and using an MBA internship at Google to get a taste of this world — a culture very different from what I’ve known in the military.”
Source of inspiration: Her sister, Kassandra, who served in the Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer before making a name for herself in the tech industry. She is someone Meghan looks up to for her confidence and resilience.
Book Recommendation: Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans
Rebecca Parker (she/her)| Engineering Practicum Intern, Google
School: University of Missouri
Rebecca was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and was interested in math and science from a young age. In middle school and high school, she never explored computer science, because she was intimidated by people who already seemed to know everything about coding. However, in school at the University of Missouri in Columbia, she took a computer science course on a whim and changed her major three weeks later. Since then, she has been soaking up as much knowledge as she can about the field and has been loving every second. Although shy, Rebecca has taken the internship at Google as an opportunity to branch out and take ownership of her learning. She is quickly overcoming her fear of asking questions and is embracing this newfound ability to learn and grow much faster than before.
“This may seem small, but I’m very proud of myself for asking one of my hosts to teach me about debugging just yesterday! I have struggled my entire life with speaking up for myself and asking questions. I have always been very shy, as well as anxious about what people will think of me. I worry that others will think I am unintelligent if I ask questions. But over the course of my internship, I have really branched out and taken ownership of my learning. I am quickly overcoming my fear of asking questions and embracing this newfound ability to learn and grow much faster than before.”
Source of inspiration: Long hikes or bike rides outside, which allow Rebecca to do her best thinking.
Book Recommendation: Knowing God by J.I. Packer
Kaarthika Thakker (she/her)| Associate Product Management Intern at YouTube, Google
School: Rice University
Kaarthika Thakker is currently an associate product management intern at YouTube and last summer, she was an engineering practicum intern at Google. Outside of tech, she is passionate about music, working as a station manager of her college radio station, and social issues. Her dream is to find a way to leverage tech to deal with issues like housing inequality, gentrification, and displacement.
When Kaarthika went to college, she wanted to make an impact on social issues, so she studied sociology and economics and did diversity and inclusion research in a psychology lab freshman year. When she took an intro computer science class, she fell in love, although it took her until her junior year to officially declare as a Computer Science major. She sees so much opportunity to do good within the tech industry and wants to mobilize people and resources within tech to focus on the impact technology is having on the local community.
“My favorite class in high school was Physics, although when I took it, I was the youngest student and one of only two girls in a class of forty people. When I went to Rice University for college, I wanted to make an impact on social issues, so I studied sociology and economics. But then I took an introductory Computer Science class and absolutely fell in love.
As much as I loved Computer Science, it took me until my junior year to officially declare it as my major because I never saw myself as an engineer. I always thought I wasn’t the “type” because I was into art/music/social issues and I didn’t “fit in” to the stereotype. But now I see so much opportunity to do good within the tech industry. I want to mobilize people to care more about the impact tech is having on local communities.”
Source of inspiration: Kaarthika is inspired by her mom. She was born and raised in India and she became the main income earner of her family at a young age. Although she didn’t go to college, she manages all the finances of her house and small business. She has sacrificed so much, but she always makes her family here first priority.
Book Recommendation: Becoming by Michelle Obama
Mackenzie Clark (she/her)| Software Engineering Intern, Google
School: University of Toronto
Mackenzie aspires to become an engineer to give back to those who aren’t as privileged. This desire to give back spans from animals and the environment to a desire to alleviate poverty. Originally from BC, she now studies at the University of Toronto in robotics engineering, and she absolutely loves learning. It was her grandfather who first opened her eyes to how fun engineering could be, showing her pictures of him climbing up to fix overhead power lines. Now at Google, she has the opportunity to jump into a different kind of fun and excitement by helping to prevent malicious ads from being on the internet.
“Don’t let your goals and passions get clouded by other’s aspirations for themselves. Wanting different things for yourself is what makes the world great!”
Source of inspiration: Michelle Obama inspires Mackenzie, and one quote that resonates with her, especially as a woman in engineering is, “I tried not to feel intimidated when classroom conversation was dominated by male students, which it often was. Hearing them, I realized that they weren’t at all smarter than the rest of us. They were simply emboldened, floating on an ancient tide of superiority, buoyed by the fact that history had never told them anything different.”
Book Recommendation: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghes
