June 14, 2024

Meet Erin Shawhan, a rising senior studying information technology. Coming to Mizzou, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to study. During her freshman year she took an introductory IT class, fell in love with coding and plans to use her knowledge to make a positive impact in the world.

“I love the combination of problem solving and creativity in IT, and I enjoy being able to build my own applications and see them work in real-time,” Shawhan said. “Today, as technology becomes more prevalent in everyday lives, it also becomes more powerful. I hope to utilize technology to make others’ lives easier. I am grateful to be learning skills in the IT program that will allow me to solve real world problems in my career.”

Shawhan is an Application Development Intern at Myers and Stauffer LC in Kansas City, Missouri. We asked her a few questions about the experience.

Tell us about your internship at Myers and Stauffer LC. What’s your role and primary responsibility?

Myers and Stauffer is a consulting and accounting firm that works with government-sponsored healthcare programs.

As an intern, I work on a team of developers that builds software to manage and streamline business operations. I work on both frontend and backend, implementing code changes and new features to improve both the functionality and the visual user interface of our applications.

What’s a typical day like?

What I do in a day can change depending on the project I am currently working on, but a typical day in the office involves meeting with my supervisor and other members of my team to discuss what we are working on and any updates, collaborating with the other interns on projects, working with databases, and writing code. Day to day, the programming language I code in the most is C#.

How did Mizzou Engineering prepare you for this internship?

Being involved in student organizations here at Mizzou has really helped to prepare me not only for this internship but also for navigating the professional world as a whole. Attending professional development meetings and workshops has helped me feel more comfortable putting myself out there and taking steps to advance my skills and my career.

Through being part of student organizations, I have also been able to build a network of peers and professionals that I can go to for help. Specifically, the engineering student organizations Develop[HER], Upsilon Pi Epsilon and the Society of Women Engineers have all been great resources for me throughout my college career.

How did Mizzou Engineering Career Services assist you with securing or preparing for this internship?

The engineering career fair has been a great resource for me to learn about opportunities and practice speaking with companies. It can be a scary experience putting yourself out there, but attending the career fair these past few years has helped me become more confident speaking with employers and asking questions.

What have you enjoyed most working at Myers and Stauffer LC so far?

So far, the part I have enjoyed the most about working at Myers and Stauffer is the company culture. From my first day, I felt very welcome at the company, and it has made it much easier to adjust to the new position. The people on my team are all very friendly and willing to help. I’m grateful to have such a supportive work environment.

What have you learned from your internship experience?

I am about a month into my internship, and I have already seen my programming and problem-solving skills improving greatly through all of the hands-on experience I have been able to gain. I have also learned a lot about what the application development process and working with data looks like on a large scale. More generally, being in an office environment on a team of senior developers has given me valuable insight into what it’s like to work in a corporate environment.

What advice would you give other students wanting to pursue an internship in this area?

My advice would be to ask lots of questions, be open to learn and be confident in yourself. While it is important to strengthen your technical skills, you are not expected to be an expert and it is important to focus on building your soft skills as well. What is most important is being able to work with others and being willing to learn and improve your skills. Remember that people are there to help you!

Is there anything else you’d like others to know about your internship?

I have had a great experience so far interning at Myers and Stauffer and I would recommend other engineering students to look out for opportunities with them in the future!

Thank you for sharing!

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