10 Questions with Kendrick Umstattd
Software Engineering Intern at Google & Student at Yale University
Kendrick Umstattd is a software engineering intern at Google, working on the Google Earth Engine team in Mountain View, CA. She is excited to be back for her second summer at Google, following an Engineering Practicum Internship in Kirkland, Washington, on the CloudML EngProd team. She joined Women of Silicon Valley this summer to help produce the summer intern series.
This fall, Kendrick will be starting her senior year at Yale University as an Electrical Engineering and Computer Science major. When Kendrick is not busy writing code in TypeScript or Python, she can be found travelling to San Francisco and Paris; searching for a new favorite book or podcast to enjoy; and getting involved in initiatives aimed at empowering more young women to pursue STEM.
- When did you know that you wanted to work in tech?
It wasn’t until high school that I was introduced to computer science and engineering. My math teacher, Ms. Kezmarsky, took the female students in her Calculus class to Lockheed Martin for a Women in STEM day. It was there that I first saw how powerful these fields are, and I was particularly intrigued by the computer science work being done.
Shortly after, I completed a summer program in computer science, and I loved that the work was like solving puzzles. There would be times when an idea for a solution would come to me at a random moment in the day, so I would run to jot down a few notes to implement later in code. A number of years later, I still feel this same excitement, whether I am collaborating with team members at Google; working with the Yale Social Robotics Lab to provide socially-assistive robots to children with autism; or building and maintaining Yale’s college websites.
2. Who is a role model that you look up to?
I have always looked up to my mother. To begin with, she has built an incredible career. After graduating from Yale University with a B.A. in Russian and East European Studies, and receiving her J.D. from Yale Law School, she worked for the U.S. Naval Reserve and the Central Intelligence Agency. After moving to Leesburg, Virginia, in 1987, where she and my father began practicing law together, she served on the Leesburg Town Council from 1992 to 2002.
During the majority of my upbringing, from 2002 to 2016, my mother served as Mayor of the Town of Leesburg. I watched her in this role with such admiration, because every decision she makes is driven by a powerful desire to improve people’s lives. She has always listened to her constituents, working closely with them to ensure that they feel heard, and that they are able to see actions being taken to help them. She now serves as Leesburg District Supervisor on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors where she brings that same dedication, and she continues to be my ultimate role model.
“I watched [my mother] in this role with such admiration, because every decision she makes is driven by a powerful desire to improve people’s lives.”
3. Where is your hometown?
Leesburg, Virginia
4. What is a struggle that you’ve faced and how did you handle it?
In both my personal and professional life, I like to approach any new situation with a well-researched plan. Before travelling to Paris, I read about everything from how to navigate the public transportation networks to where to enjoy the best views (Les Ombres, if you’re wondering); before my internships, I made sure to be fluent in the relevant programming languages, namely Java, Python, and TypeScript. What I’ve realized in the past year, however, is that although a plan is fantastic to have, there are many variables involved in any endeavor that can quickly make a plan outdated. When this happens, it is essential to be prepared to think on your feet and adapt. Getting comfortable with this idea has taken some time, but I enjoy seeing how I can respond to the unexpected without extensive time to prepare.
5. What is something that you are immensely proud of?
After my senior year of high school and freshman year of college, I interned at the North American headquarters of the behavioral research company Noldus Information Technology. One of my projects involved developing an integrated solution between Noldus’ software and Tobii eyetracking systems. There wasn’t any existing documentation about this particular assignment, so I was tasked with discovering on my own how to achieve this goal. As I went, I documented each step, so, at the end of the project, not only did I have a workable solution, but I had a guide that my colleagues could use after my internship ended. I was proud of what I had been able to achieve with the support of my colleagues, but I was even more satisfied with the fact that I was leaving behind a manual that could serve as a resource for the interns and full-time employees to come after me.
6. What’s something that’s been on your mind a lot lately?
During this year’s GoogleServe, Google’s month of service in June, I volunteered with Girl STEM Stars for a day spent teaching young girls about computer science and robotics. Over the course of the day, we watched as the students came into their own, becoming more willing to code different solutions that might or might not work. This event reminded me why I am so glad that organizations like Girl STEM Stars, Made with Code, Girls Who Code, and Kode with Klossy exist, because these groups — and many others — are helping show girls and young women that the goal shouldn’t be to be perfect, both in general and in STEM fields. The goal is to try, maybe fail, learn, and keep trying.
“The goal shouldn’t be to be perfect, both in general and in STEM fields. The goal is to try, maybe fail, learn, and keep trying.”
7. Favorite food?
Bison steak at the National Museum of the American Indian. I was last there with my mom after we participated in the D.C. March for Our Lives.
8. Favorite book?
If I were to create a “starter pack” of books for young women, Sheryl Sandberg’s books would be at the top of the stack. “Lean In” has received a lot of well-deserved attention, but her second book “Option B” deserves a mention, too. There are many great pointers about how to handle a situation where things don’t go as planned for you or someone you care about.
9. If you could try another job for a day, what would it be?
I have such a love for writing code and building new technologies. There is something so satisfying about working on a dedicated team, bouncing ideas off of each other, and then sitting down and implementing what you have discussed in Python or TypeScript. If I had to choose a different job for a day, I would want to be sure that I was still just as close to the technology, but it could be fun to look at it from the other side as a tech reporter. In my free time, I read and listen to reporting done by Kara Swisher of “Recode Decode” and Lauren Goode and Arielle Pardes of “Wired”. Teaming up with any of them, and analyzing technology from a different perspective, would be a great experience.
10. If you could give your 18-year-old self a piece of advice, what would it be?
Think about your goals with a “launch and iterate” mindset. Having goals allows you to build a plan and make an educated decision about what your next steps should be. This is the “launch” part. Iterating, which is equally important, comes into play when reality opens your eyes to an opportunity or priority shift you couldn’t have foreseen. Your goals are not written in stone. Seize these moments of realizations as opportunities to update your goals to match your new understanding of yourself and the world.
