Brandeis student-athletes are learning 12 months a year, taking part in valuable internships and taking classes over the summer. Here’s a look at what they are up to!
Brian Gao ’20, cross country and track and field
MAJORS/MINOR: Computer science and mathematics double major with a minor in economics
INTERNING AT: Garmin International, the GPS and navigation tech corporation, in their Yarmouth, Maine, office
How did you learn about the opportunity?
I heard about it from my teammate Alec Rodgers ’20.
What does your job entail?
I am working on making visual updates for the Explore website (http://explore.garmin.com) to make the website look modern. I'm also changing the code to change functionality in certain situations. For example: sending a text message to a user device if they send some kind of message.
How does this internship relate to your career goals?
This internship has let me learn the workflow that companies use in order to modify a giant code base without breaking things. I've been able to see the thought process of highly intuitive developers. I've also been able to learn about the infrastructure of a large and complex code base. These are all things that are very important for a software developer to know.
How has being a student-athlete at Brandeis helped you prepare for the internship?
Working at a company is exactly the same as being on a sports team. It's all about getting to know your coworkers and working with them to bring the best out of each other.
When do you find time to stay in shape for your sport?
At 5:50 a.m. I go to bed at about 9:30 p.m. so I can wake up around 5:50 a.m. and go aqua jogging at a nearby pool. If I have a run, I do that around 5:50 p/m. when I get back from work. The company also has a fitness center with some cardio machines if I want to use those after work.