At OLLMOO, our interns are key players in shaping the future and growth of our company. Today, we’re thrilled to introduce Laurine Aluoch, a driven and talented software engineering intern working alongside our Tech Lead, Rickson Muchedzі. To learn more about Laurine and her inspiring journey, our Social Media and Marketing Lead, Tara Formosa, sat down with her for an insightful conversation.

Can you tell us a bit about your educational background and why you chose this internship?

My background is in Computer Science, where I first came across Software Engineering. This is how I ended up finding something that this is what I wanted to do every day. I am pursuing a master’s program following my degree in Computer Science and currently, I am also interning with OLLMOO. The internship opportunity provides an opportunity to practice concepts learned in my current studies, which is pertinent to my technical growth.  

What inspired you to pursue a career in this field?

In all honesty, this was not planned. But when I first started coding in college, I loved the critical thinking, and the challenges that came with it, and that’s what hooked me in. Being a software engineer means continuous learning, and constant challenges. That’s both exciting and fun, so it just felt right.  

What drew you to OLLMOO, and how has the experience matched your expectations so far?

Having worked in previous roles before, I came to understand what I wanted to work on, and OLLMOO provided me with the right space to work on that while continuing to grow. I have been interested in majoring and becoming good at something, which is what the internship at OLLMOO represents- an opportunity to polish my software engineering skills and cloud knowledge through real-word development.  
‍

What does a typical day in your internship look like?

Working remotely means I get to set the day out in a way that works for me, and so far what works for me is an early morning, starting with my 3 hours of deep-work, where I get to focus on relatively challenging tickets or just look more into complex aspects of the codebase and fully understand what’s going on. I follow that up with code reviews, and emails for roughly 30 minutes to an hour. I take my lunch break shortly after, then when I get back, I focus on lighter coding tasks, code reviews and meetings as they come up.  

What has been the most exciting project or task you’ve worked on so far?

The most exciting part for me has been seeing the improvements I’ve made to match our existing site to our Figma designs created by Rita Medina, the Head of Product Design at OLLMOO. I find it quite interesting when I know the user experience has been improved through my work.  

What is the biggest skill or lesson you’ve learned during your time at OLLMOO so far?

The biggest lesson I have learned so far is to embrace mistakes. I am certain there will be more, however the major focus should be to learn from the mistakes and to stay open to feedback. Growth lies in making mistakes.  
‍

How is this internship helping you prepare for your future career?

The internship has provided an opportunity to major in domains that I am highly interested in. Through the internship, I am building proficiency which is integral in becoming an efficient software engineer. I am excited about being able to lead teams in the later stages of my career which I am certain should be seamless given the level of proficiency I am seeking.  

How do you plan to apply what you’ve learned here in your next steps?

I am excited about pursuing an advanced role with a major in either Cloud development of Software engineering. I believe the 6-month duration will provide a clear pathway that I am excited about pursuing. I am also excited about being able to use the knowledge gained to build in my tech community locally.  

What are your career goals, and how has this internship shaped them?

My career goal is to become a proficient cloud and software engineer, with expertise in building scalable and user-friendly applications. This internship through its focus on both will be a valuable hands-on experience, allowing me to deepen my understanding of cloud infrastructure and software engineering technologies. I also look forward to improving my problem-solving skills which are critical in solving real-world problems at every stage of my career.

We’re nothing but eager to have Laurine as part of the OLLMOO team. We can’t wait to see her grow and thrive during her internship and beyond, as she continues to build an incredible career.

‍