Software Engineering at CodeDay

Kemba Konteh

Contact: LinkedIn

As part of my capstone, I completed an internship with CodeDay, a non-profit organization that provides computer science students opportunities by running events. During CodeDay events, participants create software or hardware projects and present them for possible awards at the end of the event. Many of CodeDay’s participants work with teachers to inform them about upcoming events. As part of my internship, I was working on building a CRM-like tool that enables participants to automatically send email campaigns to nearby schools to inform them when events are occurring. I worked independently and was responsible for designing the software architecture from requirement gathering, analysis, design, implementation, and testing, with the help of my mentors Tyler Menezes and Lola Egherman. This opportunity gave me a more comprehensive understanding of the software development process. I was able to apply what I have learned from my Analysis and Design course, Database Management Systems, Data Structures and Algorithms I and II, Software Engineering, and Technical Writing. It also gave me a clear picture of what industry standard code should look like while introducing me to new technologies and frameworks such as VSCODE, PostgreSQL, Prisma, Typescript/Node.js, Express, Google maps geocoding API, handlebars template engine, Postman, and AWS’s Simple Email Service (SES). I used GitHub and have learned how to use a UI called GitKraken to quickly push my codes. Although I worked mostly by myself, having Tyler Menezes and Lola Egherman alongside, whom I would meet with at least once or twice a week to discuss progress and also assign new tasks, kept me on track and informed. These regular meetings have helped me improve on my teamwork and communication skills. Overall, the internship has been a great experience and has developed my career as an upcoming software engineer. I look forward to developing my skills and furthering my career in this industry.