By: Tasnim S.
When I first walked into the Coded by: office for the Intro to Innovation class, I was nervous but excited. The word "innovation" was completely new to me, it was actually my first time hearing the word. I had just started learning to code, and I still wasn’t sure why I joined this course.
When I joined Coded by, I was a homeschooled sophomore in high school, and really introverted. I would always avoid meeting new people, since it wasn’t something I was comfortable with, and for the past 12 years I was set on becoming a vet, but something about this course intrigued me. It sparked curiosity in me.
The Intro to Innovation course gave me a glimpse into what innovation really was. At first I wasn't interested in having a role in the tech field. I was just trying something new and satisfying my curiosity. But over time the class started becoming more than just a side hustle. The lines of code which once looked like a mess of random symbols and letters, started making sense and I could see the tech field potentially being part of my future.
I took this as my cue to apply for the Tech & Innovation Internship.
Around a week later I received an email from the Cb: team. I read over the email multiple times. “Unfortunately, you have not been selected to continue in the application process.” That hit hard especially when I was just starting to get interested in tech.
Just because I was acing the Intro to Innovation class didn’t mean I was ready for the real world, and that realization hit me hard. Maybe I wasn’t ready to dive deeper into the innovation world.
I remember asking my teacher, “How advanced is the internship?” She told me it was the most advanced program offered at Coded by. Now it was starting to make sense why I got rejected. I also realized I wasn’t descriptive enough in the application process, and I wasn’t as prepared as I thought.
Instead of giving up, the rejection ignited something in me and over the next few days I really thought - is this what I want to do for the rest of my life? Do I want to build a startup? Do I even want to enter the tech field? After a week of contemplating, I had my answer. Yes. Yes I do want to enter the tech field and not only that but I want to build a startup. But I knew to reach my goal, acing a course wasn’t enough, I needed real world experience. I needed to attend that internship.
So I spent three hours writing a three-paragraph email about my sudden passion and motivation for this field. I explained in detail how I needed this experience to reach my goals.
After sending the email I felt both hope and anxiety. I checked my email every hour, hoping they would give me a second chance. Luckily a few days later I got an invitation to a virtual interview. I was over the moon. This was my chance to prove why I was worthy of being an intern at Coded by.
I mentally prepared for the interview. I was feeling really nervous but really excited. On the day of the interview, I joined the meeting and talked to two of the leads who are now more than just leads to me. I thought the interview went pretty well. I also felt like it could have been better but that was out of my hands now. The waiting game started again, I was now checking my email every 30 minutes for the next couple days.
Finally in two days I got the email I was hoping for. “We are thrilled to offer you a position with us as a Developer Intern” I was ecstatic, my determination and sudden passion paid off. I was more than ready and dedicated for this experience.
When the internship started I was fired up and ready to prove and improve myself. The first weeks were exciting and I learned a lot. I got a taste of what it’s like to work in tech. I met some great people and came across a few challenges that I resolved quickly with the help of friends.
But as weeks went on I found myself faced with challenges that pushed me far beyond my comfort zone. One of them was this newfound concept called “User flow.” When the leads explained it to me it seemed pretty simple and straightforward, so I took charge of it in our team. I can safely say I don’t think I’ve underestimated anything that much in my life.
Just as I thought I fixed the user flow - I would get news that it needed revising. That’s when I brought my teammates into it. We spent the whole afternoon trying to build it to be as understandable and functional as possible. After a few hours of trial, error, and frustration, we finally got the approval that our user flow was good to go.
This was my turning point for this internship. It was through this process that I realized how much I was growing. Not just in technical skills but in problem solving skills and resilience. I was no longer going to be the person that hesitated to step up in this field. I was going to fully immerse myself and learn and grow as much as possible with the little time I had.
Now that the user flow was fixed and behind me, I felt a newfound sense of confidence. The process taught me to work things through with my team and that I was capable of solving tough challenges. This led me to the next biggest challenge: the pitch deck. My team and I spent weeks preparing for it.
The pitch deck was a crucial part of this internship. It wasn’t just about hard skills anymore; it was about soft skills. How was I going to stand in front of a crowd of people, convey to them our vision, and convince them of its value?
I jumped into the task and worked closely with my team. We refined our slides and ideas, rehearsing many times and memorizing our scripts. We practiced in front of the other interns and our leads. Everything seemed to be going well, and we received feedback to enhance our pitch—until two days before the presentation. We rehearsed in front of everyone, but we had a few malfunctions with the slides. Our flow was messed up, I was tripping over my words, and there was a lack of communication within my team.
I was so focused on how poorly we performed that I don’t even remember the feedback we received. I sat back down with my team, holding back tears. We had everything going well, and now, with just two days before the pitch, this was the state of our presentation?
That night, back home, I was editing our slides, but my uncertainty wouldn’t let me focus. I texted my friend about how scared I was of the pitch and how I didn’t feel like I had the presenting skills for it. She told me, “The person you are now and the person you are presenting are two different people—once you detach them, you will be unstoppable.” She reminded me how hard I had been working on this. “Did you spend all summer working on this just to not show people how hard you worked.”
This made me realize: was I really about to give up all the work I did? Instead of worrying, I got myself together, stopped crying, and started memorizing my script. I went over all the slides and constantly reminded myself why I came here.
The pitch deck day arrived. I was nervous but prepared. I kept reminding myself how hard I had worked over the past weeks to get here. I stood in front of the audience and confidently delivered the message of our pitch with a sense of purpose. I realized just how much I had grown.
On the last day of the internship I came into the office and sat down. I was proud of how far I came. I realized just how much I had changed. The person sitting here was no longer the one who walked into the Coded by: office unsure of her path or herself. This was now someone else. Someone who had grown not just as a coder but as a leader, a communicator and most importantly an innovator.
I was no longer going to second guess stepping into challenges. I was going to walk into them confidently. I was no longer going to avoid meeting new people. I was going to use everything I learned at Cb: to shape my future.
I walked out of Cb: one last time- was this the end? No, it was my beginning. I learned how capable I am. This internship didn’t just teach me technical skills and how to work with a team, it reshaped my entire perspective on what I’m capable of building and achieving.
This experience became a turning point in my life. I started seeing how the skills and resilience I learned were going to guide me towards my true passions and goals in the future. This experience made me want a career in tech, more importantly it gave me the confidence I needed to believe that I was going to build something meaningful. Something that would make a real impact on our world.
My name is Tasnim. I’m a rising junior in high school with a passion for making a positive impact on our world. Thanks to Coded by: I have realized I am capable of achieving this goal. I will continue to learn, grow, and build, always striving to make a difference.
The Tech & Innovation Internship gives high school and college students the opportunity to receive hands-on experience in a fast-paced, innovative startup environment, gaining valuable skills and the chance to make strategic connections in the tech and startup industries.
The 2024 internship was made possible thanks to our sponsors: JP Morgan Chase, Comcast NBCUniversal, Comic Relief, NBA Foundation, Seer Interactive, SEI, Infinite Blue, and Salesforce.
Interested in sponsoring Coded by: programs? Reach out to our development team.
