Young Women from Girls Who Code Thrive in U.S. Bank Internships
In the current year's U.S. Bank summer internship program, a trio of young women with expertise acquired from Girls Who Code, an organization that imparts coding skills and experience to numerous girls annually, are taking part. Kelsey Kim, for instance, engaged in a Girls Who Code (GWC) summer immersion program close to her Atlanta home during her high school years. In this intensive seven-week program, she gained proficiency in various programming languages like Java, HTML/CSS, Python, and C++. This experience ignited her passion for coding and technology.
Kelsey Kim, currently a senior at the University of Georgia majoring in computer science, Tamara Kunter, also a senior at Georgia Tech with a computer science major and a minor in Middle Eastern and North African studies, and Israa Mohammed, a junior at the University of Minnesota majoring in computer science, are all part of the 220-plus interns spending their summer at U.S. Bank.
Reflecting on her Girls Who Code experience, Kim expressed, "GWC provided an incredible journey. I could establish valuable connections, execute projects, and receive mentorship from exceptional guides. Once the program concluded, we remained connected as part of the alumni network, which is how I learned about the U.S. Bank internship. Discovering that U.S. Bank collaborated with Girls Who Code motivated me to apply due to my positive encounters with both their immersive program and mentorship initiatives."
U.S. Bank has sustained its partnership with Girls Who Code for six years and has invested over $1 million in programs for both students and alumni. According to Girls Who Code, the organization has assisted 580,000 young women and non-binary students in its decade-long history. In the year 2022, Girls Who Code aided more than 71,000 K-12 students, facilitating internships and job prospects in the tech industry for over 2,400 of its students through virtual hiring summits.
“In the 2022/23 program year, our U.S. Bank team shifted our focus slightly to provide career readiness training and opportunities,” said Jason Teal, program manager for Tech Services at U.S. Bank.
“We sponsored GWC's Hiring Summit, Technical Interview Prep program and overall Pipeline programming, which supports female and nonbinary students at all points from third grade through college, and beyond," Teal said. "Through our support in these programs, we participated in resume review events, speed networking events, and more. Each gave an opportunity for participants to get feedback on their resumes and/or practice interviewing. I am so excited that we were able to offer internships to GWC alumni and thrilled that we had Kelsey, Tamara and Israa here with us this summer.”
At present, Kim is engaged as an intern in the role of a full stack developer within the U.S. Bank talech group, a division dedicated to cloud-based software. Her internship centers around enhancing business customer point-of-sale (POS) systems, a field she mentioned holds personal significance for her.
“It been amazing to learn about new technologies and experience working in a professional environment,” said Kim.
“It's so interesting to work with everyone involved in the front-end visual elements that users interact with, to the back-end services that power those interactions. I was also really excited about the product since my parents own a restaurant only a couple minutes away from the office, and POS software is something that is an integral part of how the business runs,” she said while adding, “Now, many businesses are transitioning toward digitalization and self-service models, and the demand for efficient POS software is increasing. The relevance of the work and product is something I really appreciate.”
On the opposite side of Atlanta, Kunter has been integrated into the U.S. Bank Elavon payments team, focusing on quality assurance. Meanwhile, in Minneapolis, Mohammed has been collaborating with the engineering team.
Kunter detailed, "I'm actively engaged in the Quality Assurance division for Electronic Transfer System. My primary responsibility involves automating test cases for a hosted payment page. The main goal is to enhance efficiency, speed, and reliability, all while ensuring the website's functionality remains unaffected following any modifications or updates."
Each of these young women expressed their aspirations to apply their technical and coding competencies in their forthcoming careers. They emphasized that their early experiences with GWC and the numerous connections it facilitated have greatly contributed to shaping their career paths.
Click here to learn more about Girls Who Code.
Kelsey Kim, currently a senior at the University of Georgia majoring in computer science, Tamara Kunter, also a senior at Georgia Tech with a computer science major and a minor in Middle Eastern and North African studies, and Israa Mohammed, a junior at the University of Minnesota majoring in computer science, are all part of the 220-plus interns spending their summer at U.S. Bank.
Reflecting on her Girls Who Code experience, Kim expressed, "GWC provided an incredible journey. I could establish valuable connections, execute projects, and receive mentorship from exceptional guides. Once the program concluded, we remained connected as part of the alumni network, which is how I learned about the U.S. Bank internship. Discovering that U.S. Bank collaborated with Girls Who Code motivated me to apply due to my positive encounters with both their immersive program and mentorship initiatives."
U.S. Bank has sustained its partnership with Girls Who Code for six years and has invested over $1 million in programs for both students and alumni. According to Girls Who Code, the organization has assisted 580,000 young women and non-binary students in its decade-long history. In the year 2022, Girls Who Code aided more than 71,000 K-12 students, facilitating internships and job prospects in the tech industry for over 2,400 of its students through virtual hiring summits.
“In the 2022/23 program year, our U.S. Bank team shifted our focus slightly to provide career readiness training and opportunities,” said Jason Teal, program manager for Tech Services at U.S. Bank.
“We sponsored GWC's Hiring Summit, Technical Interview Prep program and overall Pipeline programming, which supports female and nonbinary students at all points from third grade through college, and beyond," Teal said. "Through our support in these programs, we participated in resume review events, speed networking events, and more. Each gave an opportunity for participants to get feedback on their resumes and/or practice interviewing. I am so excited that we were able to offer internships to GWC alumni and thrilled that we had Kelsey, Tamara and Israa here with us this summer.”
At present, Kim is engaged as an intern in the role of a full stack developer within the U.S. Bank talech group, a division dedicated to cloud-based software. Her internship centers around enhancing business customer point-of-sale (POS) systems, a field she mentioned holds personal significance for her.
“It been amazing to learn about new technologies and experience working in a professional environment,” said Kim.
“It's so interesting to work with everyone involved in the front-end visual elements that users interact with, to the back-end services that power those interactions. I was also really excited about the product since my parents own a restaurant only a couple minutes away from the office, and POS software is something that is an integral part of how the business runs,” she said while adding, “Now, many businesses are transitioning toward digitalization and self-service models, and the demand for efficient POS software is increasing. The relevance of the work and product is something I really appreciate.”
On the opposite side of Atlanta, Kunter has been integrated into the U.S. Bank Elavon payments team, focusing on quality assurance. Meanwhile, in Minneapolis, Mohammed has been collaborating with the engineering team.
Kunter detailed, "I'm actively engaged in the Quality Assurance division for Electronic Transfer System. My primary responsibility involves automating test cases for a hosted payment page. The main goal is to enhance efficiency, speed, and reliability, all while ensuring the website's functionality remains unaffected following any modifications or updates."
Each of these young women expressed their aspirations to apply their technical and coding competencies in their forthcoming careers. They emphasized that their early experiences with GWC and the numerous connections it facilitated have greatly contributed to shaping their career paths.
Click here to learn more about Girls Who Code.
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