What I’ve Learned at Quill
Entering a “reflective mode” of sorts as the end of my internship draws near, I can undoubtedly say that my experience at Quill has been thought-provoking and rewarding. It’s difficult to jot down everything I’ve learned — I’ve soaked in the internship constantly, even subconsciously — but I’ll attempt to articulate what instantly comes to mind.
The start-up culture has always intrigued me. How two prank-loving college dropouts, directly out of a garage, hatched the presently most valuable company worldwide (Apple), how a tech-savvy college student established, albeit in an allegedly underhanded way, a social networking site used by billions (Facebook) — it’s simply crazy to think. I savored even the prospect of joining a tight-knit group of individuals who share that same boundless passion for catalyzing change, for embracing risk and creativity. And throughout my experience at Quill, I enjoyed how we strove collaboratively to tackle issues integral to the company’s growth: advancing the grading algorithm, seeking additional avenues for grant funding, crafting content around topics that’d excite teachers. I had the liberty to branch out as I independently tried to concoct ways to boost Quill’s reach. I’m confident that I wouldn’t have had that flexibility at a larger company, with a structured environment and rigidly defined roles.
While at Quill, I gained insight into just how desperately the American education system requires attention. Of course, the media often lambastes our education system as underfunded and systemically inequitable, but Quill prompted me to face that unfortunate reality first-hand. As I graded responses, I observed how ninth-grade students would grapple laboriously with concepts as simple as tense, writing “was passes” instead of “was passed.” How they would flounder when dealing with subject-verb agreement, writing “there is jobs” instead of “there are jobs.” I’ve been fortunate to receive a strong education — and in the schools I know, those issues scarcely affect second graders, let alone ninth graders. Even when I spoke to teachers who utilized Quill in the classroom, I often heard that they’d assign Quill activities geared towards a specific grade level to students who were, in fact, much older. That was disheartening to imagine, yet it also underscored the importance of tools like Quill. It reinvigorated, in my eyes, the very purpose of Quill: to train students to become truly better writers.
I delved into growth hacking, brainstorming ways — both short-term and long-term — to expand Quill, taking into account even the most minor of tweaks that could potentially enhance the user experience. I gained elementary exposure to computer programming and software development, dipping my toes into SQL and JavaScript. I sharpened my skills with Microsoft Excel, adding onto the list of formulas that I can whip out of my toolkit. I created content, generating sentence-combining activities and proofreading-based passages regarding topics like the American Revolution. I diagnosed bugs in the system, immersed myself in Intercom, and graded countless student responses.
It’s hard to put a label on my position. I wasn’t an Editorial Intern, or a Marketing Intern, or a Business Development Intern. I had the chance to try my hand at an assortment of tasks — and that’s what made the Quill internship sweet.
