Maria D. Vilanova-Garcia | Software Engineering Intern

Business Unit: Boeing Defense, Space & Security
Location: St. Louis, Mo.
University: University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM) 
Degree Program: B.S. Computer Engineering

What are you looking forward to during your virtual internship this summer?
I’m excited to learn about the world of aerospace at Boeing and make a positive impact in Boeing’s Defense M&S (Modeling & Simulation), by helping my organization improve its software toolset and provide better analysis solutions.

How is your internship experience different to your school online learning?
My internship experience is definitely much more engaging and active than online school. Despite the challenges of a virtual internship, I’ve been able to communicate actively with my managers and peers, access a giant training and documentation base, and apply my learned topics in a real-life research and development environment.

In five years, when you look back at this experience, what do you think will be your greatest learning as a Boeing intern?
I think my greatest learning as a Boeing intern will be to be passionate about myself and my work, to not be afraid of leaving my comfort zone, and the importance of resilience.

How is the internship incorporating ‘fun’ into the experience with your team or other interns? 
I always enjoy informally chatting with my closest peers via Lync or during my teams’ daily standup meetings if possible. I’ve also been chatting and meeting up with my fellow Puerto Rican interns, participating in virtual tours and attending virtual intern events.

What about Boeing's mission and the work we do inspires you? 
What inspires me about Boeing’s mission and work is its commitment to connecting and empowering people. By valuing different skills and ideas, it is able to build technologies that impact the world and reach new heights.

How do you want to build the future? 
I want to build the future by extending the reach of our technologies, connecting people everywhere in the world with the Internet of Things, and achieving total acceptance and mutual respect in our society.

What Boeing product/s or service/s do you work on? 
I work as a Software Engineer in St. Louis’s Virtual Warfare Center (VWC), which is part of Boeing’s Phantom Works. I help test and improve the VWC’s constructive and virtual simulation software

Describe one or two things you’ve learned as an intern, that you wouldn’t learn from your coursework. 
Two very important things I’ve learned as an intern (one technical, one professional) that I wouldn’t have learned from my coursework are how to implement Agile/Scrum methodologies in software development teams, and how to network and gain valuable career advice via informational interviewing.