Destney Johnson, a student at Grambling State University, shared her internship story with The HBCU Career Center. Ms. Johnson is a Junior in the Information Systems program at Grambling State University. She worked as a Student Researcher Intern at Florida International University. 

Internship Story Answers

THBCUCC: How did you find out about the internship at FIU?I

I found out about this internship opportunity in the Facebook group called Women Who Code.

THBCUCC: What work/project did you most enjoy in your internship?

The research I worked on was about minorities in Computer Science majors and careers. The research was focused on students and their views on choosing Computer Science as a major in college. To learn their views, one of the questions that was asked of non-computer science majors was - What type of incentives would you need to switch from your current major to a major in Computer Science? The two of the aspects of the internship that I really enjoyed were interviewing other students and comparing results based on answers from my research.

THBCUCC: What presented the biggest challenge for you in landing your internship?

The biggest challenge was adjusting to doing the internship virtually after the start of the pandemic. Everything for this internship was transitioned very quickly to online. It had to move to a virtual internship because of COVID 19. The pandemic impacted my internship search a lot because all of a sudden there were changes in the job market. I had applied for internships and because of the  sudden changes I did not know for sure which companies were still doing internships.  I am very thankful for finding this research program at FIU.

Advice for students

THBCUCC: What workplace skills did you develop in your internship?

I developed the ability to analyze data properties and display results using Google Sheets. In the internship, I also learned about how to manage time working in a virtual environment.

THBCUCC: How do you think your internship is relevant to your future career options?

It is relevant because I hope to someday be in a professional technology role that helps others improve their daily lives through information systems, research, and results.

THBCUCC: Why do you think most students don’t do internships?

I think most students do not do internships because they are not sure where to look for internships. They don't look because they don't know how to find them.

THBCUCC: What advice can you share with students who believe they don’t need to do internships?

I encourage all students to participate in internships to gain professional skills. I learned a lot about research and how to analyze data. It also helped me gain professional skills and experience from my supervisor who was a Professor of Computer Science.

We welcome students who want to share their internship story with The HBCU Career Center. Email us at here if you want to tell us how you spent your internship semester.