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In a world where innovation meets compassion, the stories of our Springterns shine bright. These young talents aren't just interns—they're change-makers, pushing the boundaries of mental health care and redefining what's possible. Let's dive into their experiences and discoveries as they inspire change and break barriers on our mission.
Sophia Zehng, software engineer: navigating the code odyssey
Expectations vs. reality: a code journey unveiled
As Sophia shares, "Coming into the internship, I was excited to see code being shipped to production in an industry setting. To be a part of that process has been really rewarding from ideation to implementation to code review."
Project impact: taking on challenges, growing stronger
Her journey with the platform scheduling team was more than coding—it was about real challenges and growth. She recalls, "It’s been really interesting and rewarding to work on these features directly, and it made me more confident and motivated as a programmer."
Team collaboration: embracing diverse ideas
Spring Health's collaborative environment made Sophia realize that "working with many teammates has made me feel more comfortable asking for help and exposed me to diverse ideas."
Collaboration breeds innovation, and every voice is valued.
Mentors and more: a journey of guidance
Sophia wanted to give a special shout-out to mentors like Sarah, Grant, and fellow team devs Chad, Rob, and Eric. Sophia affirms, "To my managers Max and Naoto—thanks for your guidance since the beginning!"
Mentorship creates pathways for growth, and her summer wouldn’t have been what it was without the support and mentorship of these Springers.
Beyond tech: making an impact on mental health
Sophia's observations run deeper than code: "Having collaborated with various people, I’ve noticed one common thread: the mission resonates with all of us. Mental healthcare doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all solution, and being able to leverage technology from diagnosis to product to platform addresses this goal head on."
A vision for the future: breaking boundaries
For her, being part of Spring Health's mission is only the beginning, "I’m grateful for the opportunity to have done work this summer at Spring to contribute to mental healthcare tech. I hope to continue supporting missions such as Spring’s to bring strong and meaningful products and services to members who use them."
Ibrahim Fagbamila, software engineer intern: crafting front-end excellence
Expectations vs. reality: the balanced startup
Ibrahim explains, "Before the internship, I imagined the sort of breakneck speeds, fast-paced work, and chaotic environments people often associate with startups. However, as I started working at Spring, it quickly became clear that the company is at the stage where it has struck a balance between quickly developing new features and maintaining organized systems to ensure things are moving on the right track."
Project impact: navigating challenges, embracing growth
Working on the Verdant UI design library, he reflects on the journey: "It was challenging to consider varying edge cases that arise in production-level websites. Through discussions, I gained a better grasp of navigating the codebase, a better sense of existing code, and applying good developer practices to produce versatile front-end code."
Team harmony: a symphony of collaboration
Collaboration at Spring Health is a symphony, as Ibrahim attests, "The collaborative and supportive environment at Spring Health transformed my approach to problem-solving."
This is the place where diverse ideas come together to create innovation.
Mentors and more: a journey of guidance
Ibrahim wanted to give a special shout-out to Lani and Alejandro for always being there: “To help me deep dive into the trenches of developing components for the design system! I want to thank Jake and Greg for giving me a designer’s perspective on what goes into good UI/UX and creating a cohesive user experience! And big thanks to my manager Geoffrey for ensuring that everything stayed on track throughout the internship and everyone on the Member Experience team.”
Lessons beyond code: touching lives with tech
The mission to expand mental health care access touched his heart: "After having the opportunity to speak to people from a variety of different backgrounds, being part of an organization that touched real people and changed real lives has been an enriching experience.”
Unique perspectives: contributions that matter
It's not just coding—it's life experiences woven into innovation. He recognizes this saying, “In monthly company All Hands, we would get to hear about the experiences and testimonials from users, who had in many cases transformed their lives for the better due to their access to mental health care through the Spring Health platform. Coming from a computer science background, I’d heard about using tech for social good, often in a theoretical or academic sense. However, being part of an organization that touched real people and changed real lives was an immensely rewarding experience.”
This intersection creates meaning.
Future unveiled: skills for tomorrow
With skills honed at Spring, Ibrahim steps into the future, ready to light up the path ahead. "I’m confident that the knowledge and skills I’ve gained will serve as a foundation for making positive contributions and impacts on people’s lives in my future roles."
Saloni Gupta, IT intern: bridging technology and care
Entering the IT world: a spark of interest
Saloni opens up, "I’ve always been fascinated by how technology has the power to solve problems and help people. I realized that the IT field has a lot of opportunities for creativity and making a positive impact on people’s lives, which is what I wanted to do."
Expectations vs. reality: a guiding hand
The internship journey took an unexpected turn for Saloni: "The experience exceeded my expectations because I could collaborate with engineers one-on-one, and they provided me with valuable guidance that I needed."
Contributing to care: IT for mental health
In Saloni's words, "I’ve been able to contribute to the improvement of technological efficiency. While optimizing IT support processes, I’ve been able to work on reducing response times for technical issues to ensure that employees can focus on delivering exceptional patient care without IT-related issues."
Mentors and more: a journey of guidance
“Shout-out to the whole IT team, with special appreciation for mentors like Chong Doh, Jurida Nikolla, Steph Minier, and Ari Zaman.” Saloni highlights, "Working with the entire IT team at Spring has made this internship experience super special."
Toward the horizon: skills for tomorrow
As the internship wraps up, Saloni carries a toolkit of skills and insights. Her path ahead is illuminated by Spring's inclusive culture and technical prowess.
Morgan McDonald, legal intern
Navigating complexity: lessons in research
Navigating complex legal challenges required a special approach. Morgan recounts, "There were several research questions that I had to tackle throughout the summer that were very complicated, and in some cases didn’t really have answers. In those instances, I learned to ask clarifying questions to get to the core of the need that the question was attempting to address and then try to find/provide the most relevant information, even if it didn’t answer the question that was originally posed. I learned that context can help you reframe a question until you find the information that’ll be useful enough to help you move forward with the bigger picture.”
Inclusivity in culture: a refreshing experience
Spring Health's commitment to inclusivity resonated with Morgan. She shares, "Spring’s inclusive environment felt very organic and embedded in the culture. It was easy to come to work, interact with colleagues, and feel like I could be myself."
Mentors and beyond: guiding lights
“The entire Legal team was incredible to work with. They were all extremely smart, supportive, warm, and willing to spend time with me as I hashed through questions or concepts I struggled with. That said, I have to give special thanks to Keri Wood, who went above and beyond to mentor me, coach me, cheer me on, and give me interesting projects to tackle all summer. Keri is such a great teammate and I feel so lucky to have worked closely with her.”
Mental mealth law insights: a new perspective
“I learned a ton about state regulatory law and how various states approach everything from licensing providers to regulating how employers manage contractors to how they regulate patient access to their data. I plan to continue exploring regulatory law as I finish my last year of law school and start my legal career.”
Interested in hearing about our Summer 2024 Internship Openings when they open? Join our Spring Health Talent Community today and mark the Intern box!
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