Joseph Igama talks life as an IT Intern at Weyerhaeuser

Green River College BAS student Joseph Igama

I t’s been a busy year for Green River College student Joseph Igama (Class of 2022). In addition to completing final requirements for his Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Software Development, Igama participated in the Mentors in Tech program and also spent the last five months working as an IT Intern at Weyerhaeuser, the world’s premier timber, land, and forest products company. In the Q and A below, Igama talks about his internship experience and the culture at Weyerhaeuser, and also shares practical career tips for college students.

First off, what led you to Green River’s Software Development program?

JOSEPH: Much like the typical student, I had initially attended classes at GRC to continue my education from high school. I had the intent to explore different fields that could possibly interest me and transfer to a prestigious college. I knew I always had a knack and interest for all-things computers, but I still wanted to explore different paths, considering there are plenty of options out there.

I acquired my Associate of Arts degree, and while I did enjoy my time attending the various classes GRC had to offer, I didn’t quite feel a connection to any of the liberal arts that I would consider as a long-term career. So, after acquiring my cap and gown from the Student Affairs center, the poster for the Software Development BAS program caught my eye on my way out. The focal point for me was the low-cost attendance in comparison to the other prestigious colleges.

I did more research on the program and saw how nicely the requirements were laid out. I later received counseling from my advisor Andy and found out most of the credits earned for my AA would fulfill most of the requirements. He also created a plan, which gave me a clear perception for which classes I would be taking during which quarter. I was convinced that the program was well-constructed. Shortly after seeing this, I started my pursuit for this degree later that year.

What is your current job title at Weyerhaeuser and what kind of work do you do?

JOSEPH: My current job title at Weyerhaeuser is IT Intern, but I’ve done both release management work as well as full-stack development. As a release manager, I manage and refer to multiple documents to track the progress of our quarterly release. These documents range from emails, quarterly release notes, test plans, team meeting agendas and PowerPoint presentations. I’ve also led and facilitated meetings where I would receive tasks updates from the team on and/or demonstrate a new features for major releases.

From the full-stack development side, much of my work is assigned via Azure DevOps. I reference the work item assigned, read the content of the task, and carry out my work. During this time, I can either hack at the task alone, reach out to one of my developer colleagues and/or address it during the daily stand-ups to solve it as a group or schedule some time after the meeting.

During my time as a developer, I’ve worked with bugs and done some regression testing. For one of my bug fixes, I worked in the Angular framework to fix a styling issue for displaying an image. I was not very familiar with Angular, but this task helped me understand the framework by exploring the different layers and ultimately solving the issue.

What is the culture at Weyerhaeuser like?

JOSEPH: Weyerhaeuser is a 13-time honoree by Ethisphere for being “One of the World’s Most Ethical Companies.” For me this was the biggest attraction for working there. As I read deeper about the company, I learned they also held core values of Safety, Integrity, Citizenship, Sustainability, and Inclusion, as listed on their website. A healthy work environment is essential, especially if I’m going to be spending most of my days there.

The people are Weyerhaeuser are very professional yet maintain a casual, yet human demeanor. On top of this, my success and experience as an intern is a top priority amongst the people I work with. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the couple months I’ve been here so far. I highly recommend Weyerhaeuser for an internship experience. I’m looking forward to the remainder of my internship and am hopeful so secure a full-time position here.

What advice do you have for college students who are currently looking for an internship?

JOSEPH: My advice for college students who are currently looking for an internship is:

• Start early in your applications. Companies need time to sort and filter through the hundreds and thousands of applications coming in, and they will see that as a positive since you’ve taken the time and initiative to apply early, which can help you if and when you’re interviewed.
• Be frequent and consistent in checking and applying to internships. Take every opportunity that is presented to apply for internships. I’ve acquired my current internship by utilizing the Green River Internship board via (Green River Devs). Green River College resources and SDEV Faculty alone frequently provide many different internship opportunities, some of which are exclusive to GRC students. Aside from GRC resources, there’s LinkedIn, Indeed and other job search boards that will often have internship opportunities as well.
• Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get the position. There are hundreds of applicants hoping to score the same internship, many of which have the same resume as the next person. During my internship hunt, I received many emails back saying my application was not being moved forward or they found a better candidate. I didn’t let that discourage me in my internship hunt. I stayed consistent and frequented all my job-search resources and continued applying. By applying to more places, you give yourself a higher probability in scoring an internship position. And if you don’t do so well during the interview, you at least gained more experience to do better at the next interview.
• Create opportunities. Networking has been brought up often during my time in Green River’s Software Development Program. It’s encouraged to network with people in the industry and connect with the people that have the position you’re interested in. By displaying this initiative, it can be seen as a positive to the employer and they can put in a good word for you if they’re not the hiring manager.

Learn more about Green River College’s Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) in Software Development by visiting www.greenriver.edu/software