WW: My Virtual Summer Internship Experience

This summer, WW welcomed a class of interns across Tech and Product. Interns play a vital role in helping to drive our business forward and improve our digital offerings, while gaining career-enhancing experience that will position them well to enter the workforce after graduation.

This year’s experience was conducted virtually, so our interns represented WW from their homes in California, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, New Hampshire, and Toronto! Normally, our interns would all sit near each other in our New York City, San Francisco, and Toronto offices. To help build that same camaraderie, I set up Zoom Pods and we kicked off each day as a team. The pods can be accessed at any time, allowing interns to get to know one another, support each other, collaborate on their projects, and come together as a group.

Throughout the eight-week program, interns took part in our Intern Speaker Series, hearing from external speakers, members of our Executive Committee, and other co-workers across WW. Interns participated in mock interview training, completed a Myers-Briggs Self Assessment, and learned how to build their personal brand. On Fridays, they attended a Virtual Workshop and had a chance to unwind together with a game night.

The virtual internship program ended up being a success, and we’re thankful to all of our interns for their dedication and enthusiasm. They will be missed! To wrap up the summer, we asked the interns to share a little bit about the program, in their own words. Take a read!

— Betsey Corey, Sr. Manager, Strategic Talent Programs & Partnerships

Meet WW’s latest interns!

This summer I interned as a front-end software engineer on the e-commerce shop team. I think the best part about the internship was how well WW integrates interns. The work I did mirrored that of the work the other engineers on my team did. This integration made for an incredible learning experience. What really made my summer was how much we interns were exposed to the business side of WW. This allowed me to develop a solid understanding of how exactly the work we do in engineering contributes to bringing WW’s vision of wellness to life. Another aspect of the internship that amazed me was how much freedom I had to network internally. I left almost every meeting with the impression that there’s truly no one at WW who isn’t open to answering the questions of curious interns. The people at WW create an incredible environment for learning and growth!

Devonte G. Duncan, Front-End Engineering Intern

I am an iOS Engineering Intern working with the Food Innovation / Onboarding team. It is very important to welcome new members to WW by preparing them for the journey ahead in an easy, seamless process. This summer, I was given the opportunity to improve the quality of that welcoming process. I was able to improve the usability of the app by allowing a wide range of screen sizes to view the same content without the need for scrolling, as well as update the visual design to make text and images easier to distinguish and read. Knowing that the work I have done helps people, makes it feel even more rewarding.

This was an exceptional learning experience. I was made to feel a part of the team, not like an intern. I never felt embarrassed by asking questions, I had the space to provide and receive meaningful feedback, and I was included and a part of discussions. I felt welcome. Something that I love about WW is the way that the working atmosphere parallels the member community. Members are given this space to talk about themselves, their hardships, their successes, their journey, without being met by criticism or judgment. It means a great deal to me that WW treats their members and employees with the same level of respect and appreciation.

Brooke Porter, iOS Engineering Intern

This summer I worked on the Marketing Technology team and learned about connecting WW user data to communications that engage members. It was my first time working within the Marketing Technology space so, every day was an opportunity to learn something new. I worked with Braze, a customer engagement platform used by WW, and gained exposure to architecture and syntax responsible for communications seen by members all over the world! Throughout the summer I was continuously supported by my team to take on different projects, ask questions, and was always treated as a member of the team! It was an amazing experience as well to work with different teams through this time as a remote intern. It has been a great internship experience that highlighted the evolution of WW.

Laisha Calalpa, Marketing Technology Intern

I worked as a Quality Engineering intern this summer on the Studio Tech team and the Wellness Pillars team. I am very thankful for the mentorship experience I was given while working with my coworkers on Front-end Automation testing. From day 1, the WW family made me a part of a team with the responsibility and opportunities as a full employee. The most enjoyable part of the internship program was interacting remotely with all the other interns. In particular, the MBTI session helped reveal how I can better approach diverse personalities in a work setting. The most rewarding part of this internship was seeing first-hand my impact and contributions in helping WW members on their personalized journeys.

Leah Meza, Quality Engineering Intern

This summer I had the immense pleasure of working with Michael D’Anvers and the quality engineering team as the accessibility education specialist intern. Throughout college, I had always either been a student teacher or a clinic shadow, so I was very nervous to work in a far more corporate environment than I was used to. However, from the moment I entered the first Zoom call, the sense of community within WW was almost tangible. From that moment on, I never felt like I was just an intern — I had been welcomed with open arms into the incredible WW community.

I was tasked with working on a few different projects. The first was a presentation on accessible tech for the interns. I was incredibly nervous about this as I don’t have a background in engineering or design, so I doubted my own authority in giving such advice. However, this presentation made me realize that accessibility is something that so many don’t know much about, and therefore simply opening people’s eyes to the field was incredibly impactful and I was met with nothing but support from my peers and mentors.

Next, I started working on an intra-company awareness initiative. Michael Danvers has been doing so much incredible work alongside the engineering and product teams, and we wanted more people throughout the company to be aware of our mission. I pitched the idea of a book club. I was immediately partnered with Monika Pierce and she was so incredibly passionate and receptive to include disability in our companies’ discussions of inclusion and diversity. I am so looking forward to this project coming to fruition and can’t wait to see this transformative community-wide dialogue continue.

Lastly, I worked towards hosting a virtual meetup around the topic of accessible technology. A meetup was something that Michael had been working towards and this summer was the perfect opportunity to test the new virtual landscape. When reaching out to WW designers and engineers I was met with so much positivity and support. The community mentality of WW employees truly shined, and it made the work so much easier. Putting on a meetup in the virtual world was certainly a learning curve but was one that exposed me to the inner workings of a large corporation and one that taught me countless lessons along the way.

At each part of my internship with WW, their impact manifesto rang true — WW is a company striving to democratize wellness and make it accessible to all. I am so incredibly thankful to have had the honor of participating in this journey and l can’t wait for what’s to come.

Kate Allan, Accessibility Educational Specialist Intern