Week 2 - Mentors at Selftising

Within the first five minutes of my internship, I met all ten of the employees that work for Selftising. Moreover, having just completed my first two and a half weeks of my internship, I feel that I have not only developed an understanding for the everyday work dynamics between my co-workers, but also identified the person who I view as a possible mentor. When I look for a mentor, I try to find someone who is enthusiastic everyday at work, intelligent, and ambitious, among other less significant traits. My boss, Ramon, seems to embody all three of these characteristics. A man with a mechanical engineering undergraduate degree, an MBA, as well as a nearly completed PhD, I have the utmost respect and admiration for people with a thirst for knowledge and a desire to take one’s success into their own hands. When Ramon is in the office, he is constantly checking up on both myself, as well as the other developers and coders. We often provide a small progress report, and are greeted with guidance and suggestions moving forward. Overall, I see Ramon’s path as one that I would strongly consider after college.

To follow in Ramon’s exact career path, I would have to change my major at Michigan; however, I believe that I could still reach a similar position if I pursue a career in the technology sector. To avoid another four years of undergraduate studies, one of my colleagues, Enrique, suggested that I either teach myself how to code, or take night classes in order to have a basic understanding for how coding works. With this knowledge, I would be able to connect with my colleagues at a deeper level in order to optimize our success. I am also already planning on getting my MBA following Michigan. Finally, Ramon suggested that I try and work for several companies with different backgrounds. Coming from an Economics background, I believe that this enables me to work for companies in the financial markets, as well as the technology sector, as I have done for the past two summers. Ultimately, I value the time that I have had to learn from Ramon, and I am eager to seek his guidance in the future.