The goals I achieved beyond my internship project

At the start of my internship, I listed three primary goals: Writing a thorough product specification for the feature my team was adding to Microsoft Excel, exploring the Excel codebase and writing code to add the feature, and learning about Microsoft’s work culture. Although my technical goals were important, I wanted to know different aspects of Microsoft beyond software development that I would enjoy participating in if I became a full-time employee.

Every intern at Microsoft must reflect on how they will contribute to the company’s diversity and inclusion core priority. In my first meeting with my manager, I highlighted how I planned to organize at least two coffee chats with full-time employees at Microsoft to learn about their experiences and its initiatives towards diversity and inclusion. Furthermore, I joined the Black At Microsoft Employee resource Group to interact with Black interns and full-time employees.

In the tenth week of my internship, I got an opportunity to participate in a Fix, Hack, and Learn event in Microsoft Excel, where I worked in a team with three full-time employees to improve the cell editing experience when selecting Formulae from the Formula dropdown in Excel. It was exciting to learn how to debug the front-end of Excel Online and add functionality to an Enter shortcut in Excel Desktop.

Since this was my second internship at Microsoft, I was curious to learn how software engineers maintain a healthy work-life. I attended events like Excel Social hour, wellness days, and game nights aimed at helping Excel engineers decompress. There were different events throughout the internship that emphasized mental health. Additionally, I appreciated a “No meeting Friday” policy where there are no meetings scheduled on Fridays to allow Microsoft employees to take time to conclude their weekly assignments.

Through these experiences, I gained insight into Microsoft’s culture and how Microsoft software engineers are supported to enjoy their work.

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