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Intern by Day, Residential Advisor by Night
January 29, 2014
Every summer for the past six years, Google hosts rising college freshmen in our offices for our 3-week
Computer Science Summer Institute
. As one of our largest and longest-running residential technical education programs for university students, CSSI continues to develop the next generation of computer scientists and young professionals among underrepresented groups in the tech industry.
But such lofty goals require willing hearts. CSSI’s success comes from the hard work and efforts of a small army of Googlers who are passionate about technical education initiatives. And for the first time ever in CSSI history, in 2013 we invited summer interns to participate as resident advisors in the dorms where students reside during the three weeks of the program - essentially turning regular interns by day into mentors by night.
For today’s post, meet our Software Engineering Interns turned residential advisors from CSSI 2013:
Jacob Brouwer - UT Austin, TX
Helen Li - MIT, MA
Liam Morris - Rochester Institute of Technology, NY
Christina Lidwin - Virginia Tech, VA
Why were you interested in becoming a Resident Advisor for CSSI?
Helen:
Summer can get boring sometimes after getting off from work. When I received the email about the CSSI RA opportunity, I realized that this was exactly what I was looking for to occupy my time and do something meaningful at the same time. I am passionate about computer science, responsible, reliable and friendly -- somewhat fits the description of an RA, so I went ahead and gave it a try.
Liam:
It seemed like the perfect blend of what I enjoy about school, being a TA, and Google! When I'm at school I really enjoy my TA job and like seeing when new students understand things. It was especially exciting having the same responsibilities at CSSI because for some of the students it was their first time doing anything related to computer science! It was also a lot of fun to live in the dorms with the students. When I lived in dorms at school I frequently set up activities and made it a really social environment, and that was a really easy (and fun!) thing to do here.
Christina:
In my freshmen year, I was lucky enough to live in Honors housing at Virginia Tech, and I got to experience living with students from all years of study. As part of the housing, I got to take a seminar for freshmen, and it was such a valuable experience for me that I began leading the class as an student teaching assistant every year since. I have found that each year, the first year students have something new to teach me, and likewise I get to share my experiences as a college student with them. Living with those same students augments the amount of knowledge that is shared and learning that occurs.
While I was an Engineering Practicum intern, I served as a teaching assistant for a couple of the CSSI classes, and thought that this program was Google's version of the transformative program I had at my school. When I received the email about the RA program for CSSI, and I was eager to apply since I really enjoyed working for Google and learning in collaborative environments.
CSSI students chat about sorting
What were some of your responsibilities as an RA?
Christina:
Being an RA for CSSI is about more than just being around to help students figure out what to do when they get locked out of their rooms or need help finding out where the laundry room is. I would say the biggest responsibility was getting to know the 30 Mountain View CSSIers and helping them get started with their college careers by hosting conversations on both technical and soft skills, participating in social events and trips, and making sure they were getting the most out of this CSSI experience.
Liam:
My main responsibility was just to make sure that all of the students were safe over the course of the three weeks. I was also responsible for holding office hours in the evenings to help students with their what they were learning and with their projects. Some of these office hours were more structured, such as the resume workshop that we hosted. Another responsibility of mine was to try my best to make sure that everyone was enjoying their time at Google, so whenever I wasn't hosting office hours I was hanging out with them and playing games with them.
What was one of your favorite activities and/or projects as an RA?
Jacob:
My favorite part of being an RA was the office hours/ just hanging out with the students.
Helen:
My favorite activities with them were playing board games and weekend outings (esp. Canobi Lake park and freedom trail). I like to hang out with the students - they are amazing, extremely talented and of extraordinary character. I love spending time with them and I miss them!
Liam:
Playing Avalon with all of the students was really great. Almost all of the students immediately became addicted to the game, so whenever we weren't working on things we were playing it. This was extremely important in building a strong community among the CSSI students and helped create some great friendships (even though during the game everyone is everyone else's enemy!). Not only that, but the game implicitly strengthens critical thinking skills and I felt that it started to show in the students when they started working on their projects.
What are 2 things you’ve learned from being a CSSI RA?
Helen:
Slang - and a lot of it! Dancing, and some technical concepts :)
Liam:
Probably the biggest thing I learned is that new computer science students can learn a ton of information in three weeks. At the beginning of the program some of the students had never programmed before in their entire lives, but by the end of the three weeks they had created some really slick and impressive web apps. I thought this was really cool.
Another thing that I learned is that even though the students came from all different backgrounds and are going to completely different schools, they were able to find common ground and work together to produce great projects. Even outside of the projects it was pretty awesome to see the diverse community that was built among the students in just three weeks.
Christina:
1) It is possible to create lasting, meaningful, and impactful relationships in the short time span of 3 weeks. 2) All of the world's problems can be solved with deep fried PB&Js.
Jacob:
I've learned that the best way to help address most issues is just to sit back and listen, they tend to resolve themselves.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Helen:
CSSI has benefited me in a lot of ways. I feel extremely fortunate that I was selected as an RA. Even though I am not a rising freshman, but CSSI has made a big impact on my life in terms of mentorship and support for newer students in my field.
Liam:
The members of the CSSI team are literally wizards (especially Sarah Henderson since she's actually Merlin). No but really, being an RA for CSSI was a great experience and I'm really glad I did it. It added something entirely new to my internship experience this summer and I seriously encourage any returning interns with any interest to apply for it.
Things that I learned that aren't directly relevant:
High school students injure themselves a lot (I learned how to use a first aid kit effectively).
Wrangling 30 high schoolers is sometimes difficult and they can disappear quickly.
Remembering room keys is literally impossible.
Saying "free hoodies" to freshmen results in a stampede.
Want to get involved? The CSSI RA application is open to returning Google interns in the summer of 2014. Email
cssi@google.com
for more information!
Posted by Kieu-Thu Bui, Recruiting Coordinator
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