Daniel - Almaden, 2000

Ah yes, the thrill and exultation of hunting for that ever-elusive, truly rewarding and character-building internship experience. Hardly the easiest of all missions in college, the internship hunt is often a game of chance. The mission, should you choose to accept it, is often littered with under par stints at either local companies with no formal program, or with BIG BUSINESS where you are nothing but a spit bubble in a typhoon. When I spoke with Daniel, he had a different tale to tell, with high praise for his ultimate summer internship experience that began as a thought in his head when he was a wee freshman...

... When Dan wasn't busy tossing the javelin around during his freshman year at Cornell University, he was working, working, working toward starting something big. His college career came to a frothy head in the summer of 2000, where he participated in the iSCSI (Internet Small Computer System Interface) Project at the Almaden location. Often faced with technical challenges in his day-to-day activities, working with great people helped grease the chute.

Cool Projects
The Extreme Blue™ program provided Dan the opportunity to work on cutting edge projects that actually do see the light of day. His internship also helped to dispel the old school impression that IBM needs to loosen its tie: "I learned a LOT," confirms Daniel, "I learned about Windows 2000 device drivers, some Linux stuff (I had never used Linux before), and I learned that IBM is doing some really cool stuff even though most college aged students see IBM as a very old and dull company."

Innovative People
Dan began his summer with a head full of expectations. He expected to be faced with a challenging and useful project, to learn a lot, to meet some of the leaders in IBM, and to start a people network. Did these expectations get met? "The Extreme Blue program met those expectations. I was really hoping to work on something that would be marketed and would actually be used by more than 10 people in the world (as was the project at my previous internship), and iSCSI is certainly getting recognition." Peer interaction and mentor guidance can put the top on the muffin or the tooth in the green beans when in come to internships.

"Other internship programs throw you into an existing team where your contributions are minimal. And you're working with much older people, people you can't relate to. [my peers] were all really smart. It's good to see how other people your own age think when it comes to solving difficult problems. I don't know how to quantify what i learned from them, i doubt there was any one specific thing. I keep in touch with some of them. It's difficult because we are all across the country now." Even Dan's mentor can't escape the curtain of praise Dan is doling out! "My mentor (Steven), was phenomenal. I got along great with him. I kept in touch with him throughout my senior year at Cornell, but I haven't spoken to him much recently." Steven, if you're out there and reading this...

A Networking Experience
Networking. The buzzword that will never die. While in higher education you were expected to leap at every networking opportunity that skittered by - even if that opportunity arose by the dumpster. Another major goal of the Extreme Blue program is to provide their interns with a veritable buffet of networking opportunities. How did this wash with Dan? It was "...GREAT. I loved it. It was great to be working with people my own age," and also to be exposed to business and technical leaders. "It was good to see that IBM is a forward thinking company. This is something that is not evident at recruiting events on college campuses. I'm sure that while the business and technical leaders I met know the Extreme Blue name, I'm doubtful if any of them know my name. It was valuable in the sense that we got to see what IBM was doing throughout the company and where the leaders thought the company was heading. This is something that I never got or would have gotten at company info-sessions."