We've moved! Visit
The Keyword
for all the latest stories about
life at Google
and our
student programs
.
Student Blog
Brought to you from your @GoogleStudents friends. From pre-university to PhD (and beyond), we got you.
Introducing: Better Know an Intern - Samantha Merritt
August 2, 2013
It’s intern season at Google! Interns are located at offices all across the globe, and represent a broad diversity of backgrounds, concentrations and interests. So inspired by Steven Colbert’s
Better Know a District
, we’re bringing to you “Better Know an Intern!” The series will introduce you to our interns who will give you the scoop on the impactful projects they work on, their interests and passions, and what it’s really like to intern at Google straight from the source.
For our first post, meet Samantha Merritt, a software engineering intern in New York. This summer, Samantha not only worked to enhance user interaction with Google Now, but she also created study groups to prepare her fellow interns for their upcoming interviews for full-time technical roles. Click here to read more about Samantha’s summer experience as a Google intern.
Samantha, a rising senior at the University of Pennsylvania, was initially interested in becoming “the next great American novelist” through studies in English literature. But her passion for computer science soon led her to Google. “When I was choosing my internship, it came down to the project. Google understood that I had a slightly more narrow interest in engineering and they were able to accommodate that with my project.” Throughout her 12-weeks as a software engineering intern, Samantha and her team worked on projects for Google Now that reinforce user memory through computers and involve user interaction. Even without as extensive of a background in computer science, Samantha attributes determination, passion, and long hours of hard work to her success as an intern. “I’m very passionate about software that impacts users, not just companies; I think that’s a side effect of working at Google.”
In addition to working on her core projects, Samantha collaborated with another intern to create conversion study groups for the technical intern community; in these study sessions, she organized mock interviews, discussions, and talks by full-time Googlers to help fellow interns prepare for their upcoming interviews for full-time offers.
This summer, Samantha says she learned the value of asking questions: “I used to have a hard time asking for help, but when I came to Google, asking for help was such an integral part of my day. Here, if you don’t ask for help, you won’t accomplish anything.”
When back at UPenn, Samantha is an introduction to computer science teaching assistant, a creative writing teacher to younger students in west Philadelphia, and a talented artist. Once her internship ends, Samantha is looking forward to starting her senior year by doing an independent study on generative poetry, portfolio pieces for her fine arts minor, and senior projects.
Posted by Shelbey Roberts, University Programs team
Labels
A Day in the Life of a New Grad in Google Dublin
7
AdCamp
2
AdMob
11
Ambassador Program
14
APAC
7
Appy Trails
28
Back to School
4
Better Know a New Grad
1
Better Know an Intern
15
Better Know an Office
4
Black History Month
10
Caitlin Talks to an Engineer
9
Chrome Extensions
3
Chromebook
1
College Tips by Google
1
Community
14
Conferences
16
consortium
1
CSSI
5
Day in the Life
2
deSTEMber
1
Development Programs
1
Diary of a Business Associate Intern
1
Diary of a Summer Intern
41
Diary of a Summer Intern - Erika
9
Diary of a Summer Intern - Franklin
3
Diary of a Summer Intern - Jess
3
Diary of a Summer intern - Luke
3
Diary of a Summer Intern - Madelaine
4
Diary of a Summer Intern - Pablo
3
Diary of a Summer Intern - Rio
4
Diary of a Summer Intern 2012
18
Diary of an MBA Intern
2
Education
19
EMEA
47
Europe
8
Events
13
Exploring Design at Google
4
GHC15
6
Going Green
6
Gone Google
2
Google Code University
1
Google Code-in
1
Google Games
3
Google Japan
1
Google Lime Scholarship
1
Google on campus
2
Google Online Marketing Challenge
10
Google Science Fair
2
Google.org
1
Google+
6
Googlers
14
Googlers Beta
11
Grace Hopper
11
GradTips
9
Hangouts On Air
21
Inside ITRP
6
Intern Insights
31
Intern Program
72
Interns Making an Impact
7
Interviews
1
Jobs
5
just for fun
30
K-12 (Pre-university)
14
LATAM
3
Life at Google
17
Middle East
1
My Path to Google
45
My Summer at Google
15
My Summer at Google 2012
10
North America
4
Office Environment
4
Open Source
9
PhD
7
Products
94
Programs and Competitions
116
Recruiter Tips and Tricks
15
Rice Plus
4
Scholarships
56
Search
1
STEM
2
STEP
1
Student Tips
15
Students
13
Summer of Code
1
Teach Parents Tech
10
Tech Students
3
Tips and Tricks
27
Women in Engineering
21
Young Innovators
10
YouTube
3
Archive
2020
Jul
May
Mar
Feb
Jan
2019
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2018
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2017
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2016
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2015
Dec
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2014
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2013
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2012
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2011
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2010
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2009
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2008
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Feed
Follow @GoogleStudents
Interested in opportunities and programs for students? Visit
google.com/students
.
