Meet the 2023 interns

Throughout summer 2023, we hosted 21 college students in our Chicago office for our 10-week internship program. With internship opportunities across our Engineering, Sales, Design, and Customer Support teams, our iManage U Class of 2023 had a tremendous impact across the organization.

With the program wrapped and our interns returned to school, we reflected on the great summer we shared and asked our iManage U alumni to tell us about their 10 weeks with iManage.

iManage U Class of 2023

• Sydney Calcagno: Frontend Engineering Intern, University of Colorado-Boulder – Creative Technology & Design Engineering, Minor in Space & Computer Science
• Joseph David: Java Engineering Intern, University of Illinois at Chicago – Computer Science
• Harsha Gajja: Python Engineering Intern, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – Computer Science & Statistics
• Andrew Herman: Java Engineering Intern, University of Michigan – Computer Science
• Gabriella Hoover: Java Engineering Intern, DePaul University – Artificial Intelligence Master’s
• Isabella Maki: UX Design Intern, DePaul University – Human-Computer Interaction Master’s
• Daniel Monbrod: Security Intern, Lewis University – Cybersecurity
• Anveshak Rathore: Data Science Intern, University of Massachusetts-Lowell – Computer Science Master’s
• Jackson Weisner: Java Engineering Intern, University of Illinois at Chicago – Computer Science

What sort of support/mentorship did you experience over the course of your internship?

• Gabriella: We had a daily standup with our team: the other interns, our mentor, and me. We went through what we did that day, and what we planned to do next, and the team would help us go through any issues that we were having.
• Andrew: I had both a manager and a mentor throughout my internship. They were very helpful and always willing to answer questions but also allowed me to work autonomously.
• Harsha: I have been told it is okay to not know what to do – understanding that it is more about teamwork than individual work. Having a supportive environment where you can go to other people and ask questions, and not be ridiculed for that, was very helpful.

What was your favorite part of interning at iManage?

• Jackson: I enjoyed working with actual production software, instead of just small projects that aren’t really contributing to the real products.
• Daniel: The experience of the corporate world – in college, you don’t necessarily get the understanding of the work you will be doing. This helped to make sure the work I was doing is the right fit.
• Joseph: How responsive everyone was – all the mentors, all the people we can seek help from. They were always available and had a genuine interest in making sure you grow and learn from every mistake.

Describe your iManage internship in 2 words:

• Isabella: Inspiring. Supportive.
• Anveshak: Informative. Innovative.
• Joseph: Stimulating. Rewarding.

What did you enjoy most about the culture at iManage?

• Isabella: What really stuck out to me is how everyone here really loves working at iManage and enjoys being around their coworkers. Everyone has a real passion for and interest in what they do, but it does not seem that work is their entire life; Rather, they are passionate about working here and also have a life outside of work which is just as important.
• Anveshak: There is no one behind a nameplate that you have to make an appointment with. Everyone is approachable, people take interest in the work, and are happy to make time for you. It is very innovative. There are new things every day, and the teams manage to stay on top of everything.
• Daniel: I didn’t feel like I was being patronized or scrutinized for being an intern. There is respect for everyone here at iManage. The stereotype of being an intern is getting coffee, etc. but that’s not what it was like here. The work-life balance here shows that at iManage respect for people is important.

What project(s) did you work on?

• Jackson: I was on triage, so I got a bunch of different tickets with issues related to the on-prem server code. I took those tickets, replicated them, and then fixed it in the server code. I worked on a bunch of different types of tickets taking anywhere from one day to a few days, depending on the issue and its complexity.
• Harsha: I worked on an observational sync tool in the iManage Drive.
• Isabella: I worked on a redesign of filters in the iManage Share product. I went through past research and met with other designers on the team to understand what has worked and not worked with filtering in the past. I developed new design ideas, tested them with fellow interns, and took that research and used it to propose new prototypes for Share filters.

What did a typical day look like?

• Joseph: I started the day by collecting my thoughts and seeing what I was did yesterday using my own notes. I either continued working on the ticket from the previous day or asked my mentor for a new ticket. At 11:30 AM we had a daily standup with our mentor and other people on our team. Even if team members were not required to attend the standup, they typically would be there in case any help was needed. We had lunch together after the daily standup, and then back to ticket work, which gave us good insight into the technical knowledge. We took a break toward the end of the day and played ping pong upstairs.
• Daniel: On remote working days, I met with the team and discussed weekly activities in our daily standups. I often had 1:1 meetings with different team members to learn new applications and processes. When I was in the office, there was networking time and opportunities to interact with others. It enabled us to get to know one another better in this social setting.
• Jackson: I started with a daily team standup each morning. I gave updates on whatever I was working on during the standup, and then worked on tickets. For any issues I encountered, I reached out to people on my team, my manager, or my mentor with any questions. When I was in the office, I’d go out to lunch with the other interns.

What advice do you have for next year’s interns?

• Harsha: Don’t be afraid to ask questions – this helped me a lot during my time here. If something is not clear in any way, just ask the question. Do the challenging things—don’t tell yourself you can’t do something. Enjoy the whole experience – it is supposed to be eye-opening, take away as much as you can. Come into the office as much as you can – it is a way to connect with people more casually.
• Andrew: If you want to get something out of the internship, make sure you are proactively reaching out for more work. The point is to learn and develop skills so that you can carry that experience over to a full-time job. Also, ask for help.
• Sydney: Don’t be afraid to learn, this is a big learning experience. There will be struggles, but everyone is very supportive here and will work to help you figure it out.

If you have had an internship before, what was different about interning at iManage? What set this experience apart?

• Sydney: I was expecting to be working on the same thing for the most part (one form, one language, etc.), but I was able to bounce around and try different things. I gained a bunch of new skills in different categories instead of just one thing.
• Joseph: There are a lot more support channels at iManage – if you need help, no one is too busy to help you; if they are, they will find someone else to help you. It was common at my previous internship that people would be too busy to help the interns.
• Daniel: With past work experiences there wasn’t much recognition for the work. I didn’t have a manager in a different position ask how I was doing as a person.

A huge thank you to our iManage U Class of 2023! We miss your contagious energy and excellent work, but we look forward to keeping in touch and seeing all that you accomplish next!

And of course, it’s never too soon to start thinking about our next summer! Interested in joining the iManage U class of 2024? Sign up for alerts for when our iManage U 2024 Internships go live.