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This summer, I participated in a fun learning opportunity: the Omnitech internship. Omnitech gives its interns the resources and support to make tremendous growth over a three-month period. Omnitech has refined its internship program over the years to ensure that its interns learn the most they can over the summer. It is my pleasure to share my experience as an Omnitech intern with you.

Learning is one of the many things that define the Omnitech internship, and I would argue that it is one of the most important values that Omnitech holds. A quote that stuck with me from a Lunch and Learn led by Ben:

“You have chosen a field of work that is forever growing, you will have to learn new things constantly to stay on the competitive edge.”

Omnitech and its employees are dedicated to staying up to date, and they pride themselves on being at the forefront of technology. One example of how Omnitech encourages learning among its engineers and interns is through lunch and learns. A lunch and learn is a one-hour presentation, walkthrough, or talk on a technical subject that someone has learned about recently. Lunch and learns are not just for learning, they are also for lunch, which is why Omnitech caters food daily for its employees to enjoy while attending. Omnitech does an amazing job of allowing learning to occur naturally through the four learning phases without drowning its interns… most of the time.

Our three sherpas were John, Ale, and AJ. They acted as friends, leaders, and teachers all in one. Their job was to mentor us through the four phases of the internship: front-end development, back-end development, refactoring, and a final project. Before this internship, I had limited experience with C#, JavaScript, CSS, and HTML, and no idea how to write clean code. The first three phases allowed me to grasp fundamental programming concepts and practices such as interacting with databases, SOLID principles, system architecture, and testing. I also developed skills in new languages and frameworks, namely, C#, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, .NET, and Vue. The sherpas conducted code reviews during the first three phases to enforce correct coding practices and challenge our decisions. Here we learned that making it work does not always mean that it is right. The feedback I received during code reviews pointed out bad practices that I had developed and informed me on how to improve. They encouraged me to constantly evaluate the code I was writing, which would help enforce clean coding standards. Making the code right is something that we read a lot about in Clean Code by Robert C. Martin. In the weekly book club with Michael Herrmann, we discussed the practices that enforce clean code and those that cause code smells. This was my first experience with a 40-hour work week, and Omnitech found ways to make the days fly by.

Omnitech proves that work can be enjoyable and productive. Daily stand-ups, walks, and lunch and learns break up the day and increase morale. Above all, the people at Omnitech make work more enjoyable. Every question I had was met with a thoroughly explained solution by a professional developer. I remember having trouble one day with an unusual error, so I asked for help. One developer could not figure it out, then another, and soon I had four experienced employees at my desk, all pitching ideas to help me, and we eventually solved the problem.

Professionals were not the only help I had this summer. I was joined by six other hardworking interns who made work fun and gave me a team to feel a part of. During the first two phases, we worked on individual projects, which are usually more isolated. However, we always got to meet up for lunches, walks, or help if we needed it. Phase three was our first team project where we were split into three teams. Since we were thrown into the deep end of this phase, communication became crucial. We started working together more often and meshing as a team. We also had events outside of work like our disc golf tournament, escape room, and picnics that brought us together. The other interns made every day unique and full of laughs.

The Omnitech internship was a truly special experience. I was blown away by Omnitech’s dedication to its interns. They have taught me to fail fast, reach out for help, and never stop learning. I grew technically more than I could have imagined this summer, and I am excited to continue growing through my in-year experience this fall.