In just a couple of days, I’ll be leaving both Aquillius and San Diego. This morning, I walked from where I’ve been staying to my internship for the last time. As I resisted the bittersweet emotions that accompanied that familiar walk, I found myself reflecting on the past seven weeks I spent in this place.
I asked myself: what have I truly gained from this experience?
First thing that came to my mind was not all the technical skills I gained. I surely learned a lot by being assigned with developing software and conducting tests on a medical device, and I believe these were the most important parts of my experience. What surfaced first, however, were the people I met who inspired me to do better, think bigger, and act more boldly.
The intellectual conversations I had with the business owners I met during events, listening to their stories about starting their own businesses and all the risks and challenges they had to overcome, I was driven to be more courageous with decisions related to my professional life, and accept the risks associated with those decisions. Hearing about how small ideas turned into great innovations inspired me to take action on my own ideas. I realized that these successful people were the ones who had the courage to own and believe in their ideas, regardless of how unimportant or impossible the idea might seem. And for them, the rest was just technicality.
Also, I thought about the other interns who started their internship two weeks ago and quickly became my friends in those two weeks. The lunch breaks where we gathered around a table led to so many conversations, from discussion about our favorite books to how we eat our sandwiches. Coming from different backgrounds with unique skills and perspectives, we found common ground at Aquillius. I realized this is what the company does so well: recognizing that innovation and science revolve not just around technology, but around people and connections. While team projects at Cornell helped me adapt to collaborative environments, it wasn’t until my time at Aquillius that I understood collaboration is not peripheral to scientific development, it’s central to it.
Fig. 1 The day before I leave my internship.
Lastly, I reflected on the beautiful city I had the chance to live in. The warm and sunny weather, the beaches with pristine sand, the gentle ocean breeze…San Diego left a deep impression on me. With its balance of recreation, calm, and cutting-edge innovation, it felt like a place where I could truly thrive. When I apply to doctoral programs next year, the University of California, San Diego will definitely be on my list.
As I wrap up my internship, I leave feeling like a better programmer, a better researcher, and most importantly, a better human being. I carry with me not just new skills, but a renewed determination to pursue my ideas and turn them into reality.