Throughout the summer, Skandalaris Center Summer Internship Program participants will be writing guest blog posts about their internship experience. Following is one such post.
A Glimpse Into The World of Startups
By Kevin Eyram Harlley (TG)
My name is Kevin Eyram Harlley and I am a Computer Science and Computer Engineering double major at Washington University in St. Louis and am originally from Accra, Ghana. Ever since I was young, I have been highly interested in how the digital age is changing the way the world runs and how we can use technology effectively to improve the world we live in today. As a member of the dual degree program at Washington University in St. Louis I am also considered a master’s student and take graduate and undergraduate classes concurrently. Although my undergraduate focus has been in Tech, my master’s is in Engineering Management and I have always been extremely interested in entrepreneurship. On WashU’s campus, the Skandalaris Center is a great way for me to pursue my interests and the opportunity to participate in the Skandalaris Center Summer Internship program was a chance I relished when I learned about it at one of their information sessions.
This summer I am working at a small startup at the Cortex Innovation community called CheckTheQ. The company is a SaaS (Software as a Service) company that aims to transform the way that companies manage their facilities using technology. The founder is a WashU alum and during the few weeks that I have worked with him he has taught me so much. I have helped with developing the company website, creating an outline for customer development plan, market research and many other tasks that would usually be outside my comfort zone. In addition, I have been able to work with the company’s engineering team as we attempt to design and produce the necessary hardware and software that are required to make this dream a reality.
It is extremely exciting to see how a startup is run and I believe that I’m getting valuable experience that will allow me to thrive in the business world whether I choose to go into entrepreneurship or work in the corporate world. Working on tasks that would usually not be designated for an engineer has been very challenging but over the course of these short few weeks I have learned that in a startup everybody often has to wear many hats. It is interesting to see the company CEO run around doing logistic stuff and picking up food for group events or our website development lead researching into possible competitors because everyone else is busy with another task that is equally as important.
The Skandalaris Center program has been an exciting and eye-opening experience and I am truly glad that I made the decision to spend my summer doing something that I believe is one of the best choices I could have made for the path I believe is best for me. I look forward to what else the summer has in store for me.