ISPA Technology Summer Intern Program 2018
ISPA Technology is a company that was built on the idea that we could thrive if we built an organization based people who had two key traits: a strong work ethic and a willingness to learn. Technology itself moves so quickly that no matter what background you come from (age, gender, education or ethnicity) all that matters is that you have an insatiable desire to learn new things and break new ground. If someone aligns to that belief then they are someone we would love to meet. For the past three years, ISPA Technology has continued to expand our work force not just through the hiring of seasoned engineers, but by a commitment to build and develop a new group of technologists. We have grown a modest group of paid and unpaid interns to pipeline of over 20 candidates that have been hired by our company and several other companies across the defense/technology space. These people are changing the makeup of the workforce, bringing fresh ideas and new talents to their customers and their peers. When asked about this program ISPA's CTO Brad Joelson said the following, "I believe in bootstrapping the future generation, and what we have been focused on over the last two years is both individual and small team development of technology that can give someone a taste of what their future might be like... I like seeing these [students] get a head start."
"I believe in bootstrapping the future generation, and what we have been focused on over the last two years is both individual and small team development of technology that can give someone a taste of what their future might be like."
In 2018, our team in Panama City brought in four phenomenal interns for the summer and at the end of their time we asked them to describe what kind of work they did and how it will help shape their careers moving forward. Not all of our interns come from engineering backgrounds but regardless we find ways to bring them into our team and show them how their background, mixed with a love of technology, can open doors. These are their stories...
Thomas Le, Software Engineer Intern said of his time interning at ISPA Technology: "Over the past 64 days during my internship, I have received the opportunity to learn a lot about programming, app development, and various information about the professional work field. My main job during the internship was designing the app through prototype graphics vectors, making documents such as ICD's, and programming. As an upcoming sophomore at the University of Florida majoring in Marketing, this internship has opened my eyes to various options to explore in my career choice. I had never really thought of pursuing engineering but I was very interested in app developing and designing User Interfaces. This internship has allowed me to understand the process of app development and software engineering and I found it very fascinating because I got to learn how to program. In the future, since I am in business, I would like to maybe explore the marketing for app development and possibly with ISPA. Marketing is a crucial part in getting your app out there to maximize your assets and it would be an awesome experience to help with that. Additionally, anything on the business side would be interesting to work within for the near future, whether it's marketing, finance, and even app development. But thank you for this opportunity and I appreciate ISPA giving me this internship this summer."
Another intern, Maria Morejon added: "My summer internship at ISPA Technology this year brought many firsts for me. It was my first professional internship, it was my first bit of experience in my prospective field, and it was the first time I really got to make an entire application from start to finish. It was exciting to be thrown in head-first on this project, and be able to just figure things out along the way. I learn best by doing, so if this summer had been me sitting beside the desk of a full-time employee, watching them work on this project, I wouldn't have learned half of the things I can now say I did. I was grateful to have been trusted to do this my own way, without someone breathing down my neck and directing my every move. There was a lot of unfamiliar territory and self-learning that came along with this hands-off approach, but that made it feel that much more authentic to what this job would actually be like, and if I was ever stuck, there was always someone within arm's reach who would be willing to help. Overall, I can say I thoroughly enjoyed this experience and it is a huge relief to be starting college confident that I enjoy the work I will be doing four years from now."