The WiCS Intern Experience!
By Janice Li and Annie Ma
Hey everyone! Annie and Janice here — two students who interned with Stanford Women in Computer Science (WiCS) this fall quarter. We are so excited to share our virtual intern experiences and perspectives with you all!
Stanford WiCS is made up of nine teams: Industry Events, Marketing, Professional Development, Community, Outreach, Graduate, Inclusion, Finance/Sponsorship, and Intern/Fellows Program. As an intern, you will be working with one of the teams on a variety of projects to support the organization. Throughout the quarter, there are a ton of fun social events to bond with the rest of the WiCS community and no shortage of interesting opportunities to learn more about CS and the industry.
Here’s some insight from interns on three of WiCS’ teams!
Marketing
Annie: Hi! I’m Annie, and I interned with the Marketing team in the fall. I’m pretty set on majoring in Symbolic Systems, and I’m excited for the next four years with WiCS!
Janice: Hey! I’m Janice, a freshman planning on majoring in Economics and minoring in CS. During fall quarter I loved working on the Marketing team!
Outreach
Ellie: Hi! I’m Ellie, a freshman planning on majoring in CS. This quarter, I was excited to have the opportunity to work with the Outreach team!
Community
Avika: Hey hey! I’m Avika, an intern on the Community team! I’m planning on majoring in CS but taking tons of classes around Economics and MS&E.
Q&A:
- What did you work on in your respective teams?
Annie: On the Marketing team, I worked on WiCS’s Medium page, helping edit, write, and publish articles. I also brainstormed some ideas for WiCS’s Instagram, so you might be seeing some spicy new campaigns on your feed soon!
Janice: As a Marketing intern, I worked on the Weekly WiCS Digest, a newsletter of upcoming events hosted by the organization and a recurring list of opportunities in the industry. I also helped create designs and flyers for WiCS sponsored events and learned how to use Figma and Canva!
Ellie: As Outreach interns, we were able to help lead and work with students during Outreach’s Friday sessions, when we taught middle schoolers about the basics of CS with other Outreach volunteers. Our main project was developing an “advanced” curriculum for students who might have already completed the Outreach program in previous years. Overall, Outreach was such a supportive and wholesome team to be a part of.
Avika: The Community team is responsible for hosting all the amazing programs that build the WiCS family! I planned out a quarter-long internal team building activity and am super hyped to get that started in the winter!
2. Why did you apply to be a WiCS intern?
Annie: I’d heard a lot about how the WiCS community was like none other, and I wanted to start off freshman year with a solid group of amazing people who were also interested in Computer Science.
Janice: Going into my freshman fall quarter, I knew I wanted to be a part of a welcoming community and one where I could explore my interests in computer science. Hearing about and talking with WiCS’ wonderful community of empowering women, I was so excited to apply to be a WiCS Intern.
Ellie: I applied to be a WiCS Intern because I wanted to contribute to WiCS and the broader community relating to women and computer science, especially with the work of the Outreach team. Additionally, I wanted to get to know other women in Computer Science at Stanford and form connections with the other interns! Being a part of Outreach and WiCS gave me a community to be a part of, even in the chaos of the virtual quarter.
Avika: I was a part of WiCS Outreach events in high school and was completely blown away at the love and support the club gave to each other, the school, and the broader community. I knew I wanted to be a part of facilitating that environment so I zipped over to the WiCS booth at Club Fair faster than a compiler could execute “Hello World!”
3. What is your favorite part about being an intern?
Annie: Being a part of the intern and the WiCS board community! Compared to the other organizations I was a part of in the fall, WiCS was definitely one of the ones that I felt the closest bond to. Everyone is so supportive and caring.
Janice: Being a WiCS intern was definitely a highlight of my fall quarter! The opportunities to connect with professionals in the industry were limitless and the possibilities to learn from upperclassmen’s Computer Science journey were inspiring! I loved getting to know other people within leadership, fellow interns and the greater WiCS community.
Ellie: My favorite part of being an intern is definitely forming connections with people that I might not have met before, whether it be the students we worked with on Outreach, or other WiCS interns and board members. I was able to meet and get to know people from different backgrounds, and it was so nice to have the support of the WiCS community throughout this quarter.
Avika: Plainly seeing all the boss ladies! Whether they were my fellow interns or the other board members, I loved all the calls and goofs we had! Even with Zoom University, some of my closest Stanford friends have been created because of WiCS!
4. Why should you apply to be a WiCS Intern?
Annie: If you have any interest in Computer Science and want to have access to a community of incredible women who are also interested in Computer Science, WiCS is for you!
Janice: All should definitely apply to be a WiCS Intern! I’ve learned so much about my interests in Computer Science, had the opportunity to meet amazing people, and directly got involved with helping the behind-the-scenes of the organization. I know you also will have an amazing time as a WiCS Intern! :)
Ellie: Apply to be a WiCS Intern to meet new people and be a part of an incredible group of individuals! In the process, you will also be able to work on projects that contribute to the community in various ways.
Avika: Tech is such a great field to go into so even if you have the tiniest interest, join WiCS!! You’ll make amazing friends and seeing each other in class will make navigating the gender gap all the much easier.
The WiCS community is such a welcoming family and we can’t wait to welcome you in! We encourage you to apply regardless of your previous Computer Science experience (it isn’t a factor at all). Applications are due at the beginning of Week 3.
Intern Program is just one of the ways you can get involved with WiCS! Anyone can easily join as a general member by subscribing to the WiCS email list, as well as join our WiCS community Slack here: https://tinyurl.com/wics-community-slack. By subscribing, you will be notified of any events we put on, as well as other opportunities to become more involved, such as our upcoming book club, company events, and more. We are also introducing a new program called the WiCS Fellows Program, which is another way to get more involved in the WiCS community — stay tuned for more info by subscribing to our email list!
If you have any questions at all, feel free to reach out to us on Instagram: @stanfordwics! 💜
