Only In New York

Ray Song
Ray Song
Aug 26, 2017 · 4 min read

Sleepy eyes were floating around, unfocused but not without purpose. Tens of people nudged and shouldered each other to fight for that elusive last spot on the subway, while those who had already secured their seats cut themselves off from the ongoing mayhem by channeling their attention onto their 6-inch smartphone screens. It was a typical Monday morning in New York.

Amongst the mostly black-and-gray army of suits, a single man distinctly stood out from the pack. He was of average height, but he was wearing a white T-shirt and bright red pants that could probably have been visible from a mile away, along with equally flaming-hot Converse shoes. The fact that he looked old enough to be my dad was the cherry on the top; he seemed to have come straight out of a Humans of New York interview, one of those people whom you could only admire for their dashing audacity and disregard for standard fashion norms.

“Only in New York,” I thought as I smiled to myself.

It was the first day of my internship. Technically it was already week 2, but the entirety of the first week had been spent in a satellite office, away from company headquarters, due to a separate intern training process. As such, I was at once excited and anxious to meet the people whom I would be working with for the next 10 weeks, and especially so for my mentor, who would be the person responsible for my evaluations and internship results. Though the dress code was casual, I took care to wear my khakis and polos so that I could come off as an organized, well-mannered student at first sight.

After HR personnel introduced to my new shining white desk, I started to go around and introduce myself with a short sentence I had rehearsed in the showers just hours ago: “Hi, I’m Ray and I’m the new intern here for the summer. I’m so excited to be here, and I look forward to working with you!” After about 6–7 iterations, it was time to meet my manager — the final boss, if you will — and as fate would have it, it was none other than a man with bright red pants and matching Converse shoes. The person that had made me smile on my way to work was in fact a well-established engineering manager at a high-profile company who also happened to be my boss for the summer.

While it has only been three days since I joined the Web Applications Development team, the aforementioned anecdote is very telling of the open corporate environment that we have. I had grossly underestimated what they had meant by casual dressing; it wasn’t too long before I started to notice people walking around in their school logo T-shirts or football club jerseys. Every morning starts with a 10-minute meeting called “scrums” where team members gather around in a circle to discuss their plans for the day, so that everyone is up-to-date with the bigger picture. No one, not even the CEO himself, has a separate office because one of the company’s mottos is “Transparency Rules” — a phrase that is taken quite literally as well, as evidenced in the glass walls that dominate most of the internal architecture. Everyone is more than willing to help, so much that one of my teammates even took the time to show me where all the free food was located in the pantry, including a well-hidden back room filled with bagels, toast, and a whole array of different jams.

Having a manager who wears different colors of highlight pants every day, each time with matching Converse shoes as well, is more than just an attempt to appear hip and cool, as per industry trends. It is a welcoming gesture that encourages everyone, even the interns such as myself, to be themselves regardless of corporate environments and work relationships. Adjusting to new environments is a difficult task for everyone regardless of age and experience, so having high-ranking members of the corporate ladder exemplify their willingness to communicate is a huge asset for everyone in the organization. The flashy pants were more than just a source of amusement — they were what motivated me to approach teammates who were 10–15 years older than I was, so that I could ask questions and receive valuable advice.

Here is another example: during my first scrum meeting, I had sheepishly stood around in the outskirts of the circle that we had formed, because I had literally not done anything outside of introducing myself, submitting various paperwork, and setting up my computer. When everyone went around full-circle and it was my turn to announce what my plans were for the day, my response was something along the lines of “uh…I’m still trying to download some stuff, trying to get ready for my project.” To my surprise, instead of laughing my comments off and moving on, the entire team proceeded to offer all sorts of help on how I could receive authorization to bypass corporate proxy firewalls, or different ideas on potential projects that I could pursue. Everyone seemed genuinely willing to help me out and make me feel home, which truly meant a lot to me, as well as helped disperse a lot of the anxiety that I used to have before starting my internship.

Make no mistake, all the laughter and heartwarming greetings do not mean that the work was a piece of cake; in fact, over the past week I have experience some of the most difficult technical difficulties in terms of programming and software design. But while the work is surely challenging, the fact that I have the support of so many people is reassuring and empowering; after all, it is an internship, which by definition entails a steep learning curve and a few rough patches. Thanks to the number of people who are so willing to help me out — as many as the pairs of Converse shoes that my manager has, hopefully — I know that I will be in good hands.

)
Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade