Hello from Women in Analytics (WIA)! We're featuring SAS' incredibly talented 2023 intern class, specifically the United in STEM program. This program is designed to provide valuable work experience for students from diverse backgrounds enrolled in an accredited degree program who are passionate about technology. This year's class features 43 interns representing 26 universities, with the majority of these interns working in R&D.
WIA has decided to learn more about a couple of the women in this program making big strides this summer– per glowing feedback from their managers. To learn more about their backgrounds and paths through technology, we talked to Alexandra Jones and Jessica Bui about their summer at SAS.
Meet Alexandra Jones! Alexandra is a rising junior at North Carolina State University. She is studying computer science with a minor in economics. She is from Clayton, NC. A fun fact about Alexandra is that she is a huge music nerd and plays guitar. Alexandra could go on and on about music for hours!
Can you talk about your role at SAS and how it has challenged you and helped you improve this summer?
Alexandra: I was tasked with creating a web app and deploying it to the cloud. At first, this was a very daunting project! I had next to no experience with the front end and tools like Docker, Kubernetes and GitHub Actions were entirely new. Having to familiarize myself with numerous new concepts and technologies has completely changed how I approach designing and implementing programs. Knowing how to find a solution is just as important as the solution itself.
How did you get involved with your major in college? When did you realize this was what you wanted to pursue?
Alexandra: I stay involved in NC State's computer science department with my role as president of Code Black. Code Black is a new club that was founded at NC State this past November to support black students in computer science. It’s something I’ve grown to be quite passionate about. I think I knew ever since I was little that I wanted to do something with technology, as I was very into video games growing up (Mario Kart DS is a personal favorite to this day). When I was in 8th grade, I took an introductory robotics class and fell in love! From that point on, I knew computer science was for me.
Talk about a cool STEM-related project you’ve gotten to work on recently, whether it be at SAS, school, club, etc.
Alexandra: This past school year, I worked on some pretty cool research projects. The one I am most proud of studies the connection between a person’s favorite video games and their interests and pastimes outside of video games. I plan on continuing the study once I return to school in the fall.
What advice do you have for younger girls interested in pursuing stem? What would you tell a younger version of yourself?
Alexandra: My advice to younger girls (and a younger me) is to stay weird, stay nerdy, and stay curious. There’s no shame in being a nerd. I say that as a nerd myself! This is cool stuff! It’s hard not to nerd out a bit! It only means you’re fascinated and that’s a wonderful thing. If you are passionate enough (or crazy enough, haha!) to want to study computer science, go for it!
Next up is Jessica Bui. She is a senior at NC State studying computer science. Originally from Greensboro, NC, Jessica loves gardening and plant-related things. A fun fact is that she has her own vegetable garden where she is growing six different vegetables and herbs!
Can you talk about your role at SAS and how it has challenged you and allowed for improvement this summer?
Jessica: I am currently on the R&D IoT team working as an Enterprise Quality intern. I have been writing new test cases to test out the SAS Intelligent Decisioning system as well as creating a job to help run these tests. I think this experience has challenged my skills in researching new processes that I have never touched before, as well as applying the skills and knowledge that I already have in order to figure it out. I definitely feel like my confidence has improved when it comes to working in a new environment within the industry and that I have no reason to feel scared.
How did you get involved with your major in college? When did you realize this was what you wanted to pursue?
Jessica: Computer science was not my first choice because I was originally going into the pre-medical route. However, understanding what I can and cannot handle definitely impacted my decision to discontinue that route. When deciding on a new major, I knew that I always had a natural inclination toward technology and I knew computer science was a growing field, so I decided to test it out. Turns out, I’m pretty decent at it and it felt pretty natural to me.
Talk about a cool STEM-related project you’ve gotten to work on recently, whether it be at SAS, school, club, etc.
Jessica: I think the coolest STEM-related project wasn’t really a project but just a hobby. Growing things from seeds is a long, tedious process and being able to test out different environments for the seeds to grow in to see which is a better suit is cool. Also, I see baking as a science and I’ve been working on perfecting a sourdough recipe.
What advice do you have for younger girls interested in pursuing stem? What would you tell a younger version of yourself?
Jessica: My advice to younger girls is to stay true to yourself. Don’t beat yourself up if something doesn’t go right the first few times. Also, it is OK to have other interests that don’t center on your STEM field. It does not make you any less than your peers who have fifty million projects going on.
Are you interested in joining SAS as an intern? Find out more about the opportunities available to you!
