Eric - Almaden Intern
Summer 2002

Meet Eric - Extreme Blue Class of 2002, IBM new hire 2003

In the summer of 2002, Eric participated at Extreme Blue™ Almaden, working as an intern on the Aurora Autonomic Storage Manager project. He's now enjoying a full-time IBM position as a staff software engineer with Tivoli Security. Eric holds a bachelor's and master's in computer science from Cal Poly.

Eric, overall how was the experience for you?

Better than I expected. There truly is a synergy when you get lots of smart people in a room together. Our project was successful, we all had a great time, and I made lots of new friends as a result.

What would you say were the most valuable lessons you learned from your internship?

Well, I certainly learned a lot about IBM. My education prepared me well for the rigor of the projects (I've done similar projects with similar schedules in classes). However, I took away a lot due to the "startup-like" nature of the lab and its projects. I got to see how business people work and what they go through to figure out what we need to develop—that gives me unique insight into my current job and how I can help the business team get what they need. I learned the importance of networking with people everywhere. More importantly, I learned the importance of mentors and how they can shape your career.

Did the internship live up to your expectations?

I expected a tough project with long hours and lots of trouble spots. I also expected a group of interns that were really into their work and excited to be there. My experience more than delivered on my expectations.

Was the exposure to business and technical mentors a valuable networking tool for you?

Our mentors were amazing. They spent so much time with us to help us really understand the domain and what they were trying to get out of it. I speak with them from time to time, but I've developed other mentors closer to my goals that I speak to more. The exposure to mentors was surely valuable—without them we wouldn't have been able to complete our project in a meaningful manner.

How does the Extreme Blue internship compared to other internship programs you've been involved with?

I've been involved with four other internships, and Extreme Blue is by far the best internship program I've come into contact with. It's hard to get in. However, once you're here, you're surrounded by people who really care—and you're given plenty of rope to work with.

Were you impressed with your Extreme Blue peers?

I was—and still am—extremely impressed with my peers. A few of them are now good friends of mine, and I still keep in contact with several of them.