What I liked
I loved working somewhere that had a goal my own interests were so aligned with; how many software developers can say they're directly helping advance the gospel? At WA, I worked directly with 7 other college-age interns developing translation software, specifically for translating the Bible into primarily oral languages.
I loved the format of the internship--it was VERY focused on helping us learn and form good development practices. We had guest mentors come in every week and a half, we had experienced people in the industry to ask questions at any time, and they structured the project so that we, the students, were the organizers and the driving force behind the process once we were caught up to speed on what we were doing. We learned so many things: cooperative version control, the Kotlin language, how to work with libraries, and a lot of other technobabble that I could go into if anyone was curious. :) Above all, though, I loved that the environment of the internship was focused on learning and not on just getting a project done. The people at WA cared about helping us grow far more than they cared about the software itself; I can only hope I get to work in an environment half as supportive as that again!
The internship also took us interns on trips to explore the Florida area every weekend; we went to Disney Springs, nature parks, canoeing, different sports activities, and so many other things specific to the Florida area. It was a real blessing to experience how well thought-out the activities were; it wasn't just about getting kids to code for them, it was about teaching us and giving us an experience to benefit from.
