Intern Intros: Peter DeLong, Engineering Intern

In this new blog series, we’re introducing Sunbird’s interns for Summer 2016. This post in the series shares the perspective of Peter DeLong, our Engineering intern who is approaching his junior year.
 
I’m currently a rising junior at Princeton University and study Computer Science in the School of Engineering. My favorite thing about computer science is that, depending on whom you ask, it’s an interesting mix between engineering and craftsmanship. It also allows me to flex both my quantitative and creative muscles, which is usually satisfying. (After spending hours chasing a bug through my code in vain, it’s a little less satisfying.)
 
At this point, I have little idea what I want to do in the future, but I’m told it’s one of those things you end up figuring out eventually. As part of my big quest to figure out what I want to do with my life, the first thing I’m looking to learn from this internship is what startup culture is like. More specifically, where do I want to work? Knowing how different companies work is important to answering this question with certainty.
 
At the same time, I get to work on a mature software project while experiencing startup culture, which is not something that you normally see. I’m currently working on carefully updating the documentation for all the internal APIs to make it simpler to write automated tests. What appealed to me most about Sunbird’s culture is the rich mix of industry veterans and newcomers, which leads to a wealth of new ideas matched with a strong knowledge of the product and the industry space.
 
Lastly, since this is my first internship, it is exposing me to what working in the real world is really like. Learning to become comfortable with the responsibility of keeping myself fed and healthy while working is an important experience that is easy to miss out on, unless you have an internship.