At The ETC, Students Make The Most Of Their Summers
This summer, ETC students took their skills beyond the classroom and into the real world — designing, coding, and creating at companies shaping the future of technology and entertainment.
From building AR tools for film production at Fuzzy Door Tech to enhancing the Snapchat experience at Snap Inc. to helping design new rides for Universal Studios theme parks, our students are making an impact no matter what part of the industry they’re in.
We spoke to 6 second-year ETC students about the work they did this summer and how the ETC prepared them for it.
Name: Jasmin Ali-Diaz
Role: Advanced Technology Initiatives Intern, Universal Creative
Where are you working this summer and what are you doing?
This summer I am interning at Universal Creative in Orlando, Florida. I am doing research and development under the Advanced Technology Initiatives (ATI) department. ATI is responsible for developing the future of technology in the theme parks. It requires a lot of research, rapid prototyping, testing, and iteration!
What's been your favorite part of the internship so far?
My favorite part of the internship has been getting to meet so many talented people. Universal Creative houses some of the best and brightest in the industry, so it's been amazing getting to learn from them. I've also loved getting to learn more about Universal as a company and the attraction development pipeline.
How has your time at the ETC prepared you for the work you've been doing this summer?
The most important thing about working at Universal is knowing how to be flexible. The ETC has prepared me for this environment by teaching me how to adapt quickly through our rapid development projects.
Name: William Zhang
Role: Software Development Intern, Fuzzy Door Tech
Where are you working this summer and what are you doing?
I'm working at Fuzzy Door Tech this summer. My internship is remote, but we had an in-person onboarding in LA. I'm doing software development on ViewScreen, a set of AR tools for film/TV production that integrate VFX and live action into the camera in real-time.
What's been your favorite part of the internship so far?
My favorite part is certainly the people. It's a small company, so everyone is approachable, and people are always eager to help. It's so great to work in an environment where everyone is super friendly, open, and supportive.
How has your time at the ETC prepared you for the work you've been doing this summer?
Obviously, working in Unity and VR/AR at the ETC helped prepare me for the hard skill side of things. More importantly however, the fast-paced nature of ETC projects prepared me for working on cutting-edge technology in a fast-moving industry.
Often in my internship, I would get assigned a task that involved some part of the software I was not familiar with, and I would need to figure out how to quickly learn what I needed to solve the problem. The ETC prepared me to be adaptable to these sorts of situations – in BVW we switched projects and platforms every couple of weeks, and in the project semester there are often unexpected last-minute issues that come up or sudden changes in direction from faculty feedback. From my ETC project experience, I am comfortable navigating these fast-changing scenarios. I can adapt in the face of sudden changes in scope or requirements, and I am used to rapidly working out a prototype and then iterating from there. These skills have proven tremendously useful in my internship.
Name: Malaya Heflin
Role: Engineering Intern, Disney Experiences
Where are you working this summer and what are you doing?
This summer, I'm working at Walt Disney World as an Engineering Intern on the Global Engineering & Technology team. Specifically, I work on show control software, which is the technology that controls things like lights, sounds, and animatronics on the rides and shows at Disney theme parks and cruise ships! I spend a lot of time working on interactives, which as the name suggests, are elements of attractions that respond to guest interaction.
What's been your favorite part of the internship so far?
My favorite part of the internship has been getting the opportunity to see behind-the-scenes of the Disney parks and learn how the different attractions work. It is very inspiring to see what cool things can be made with the technology that I'm studying!
How has your time at the ETC prepared you for the work you've been doing this summer?
The ETC has prepared me for my internship by helping me practice being adaptable and versatile. Jumping into a brand-new team and environment here at Disney has required me to quickly pick up new skills and problem solve, both of which I've become more confident at through my projects and experiences at the ETC.
Name: Nellie Tonev
Role: Software Engineering Intern, Snap Inc.
Where are you working this summer and what are you doing?
I’m working at Snap Inc. (Snapchat) at their Palo Alto office. I’m part of the friending team, and I’ve been focusing on client-side features for Android devices. I’ve completed a few projects related to the appearance and functionality of the Add Friends page, friending notifications, and a couple other places where users can add their friends in the app.
What's been your favorite part of the internship so far?
My favorite part of the internship has been getting to dive deep into so many different features and having the opportunity to implement changes that I get to directly see and interact with, and that will potentially affect the experiences of millions of people using the app. Instead of having me work on just one isolated project for my entire internship, my manager treated me like any regular member of the team and gave me several features and tasks to complete, which has allowed me to learn so much about the development process in a very short amount of time and truly feel like a real software engineer and a part of the team.
How has your time at the ETC prepared you for the work you've been doing this summer?
I think the ETC has prepared me for the work I’ve been doing this summer by giving me the experience of working on projects with a team where I feel like I am responsible and accountable for significant pieces of the project that I own. The ETC has helped me to become more independent in solving problems and better at managing my own schedule and timelines for long-term projects requiring consistent work every day.
Name: Jiwon Park
Role: UX Design Intern, Motorola Solutions
Where are you working this summer and what are you doing?
This summer, I interned as a UX Design Intern on the Devices UX team at Motorola Solutions. My work focused on researching competitor apps and internal studies to establish human-factors guidelines, as well as designing and animating a prototype of the app in close collaboration with my colleagues.
What's been your favorite part of the internship so far?
What I enjoyed most was validating my design through user testing and SME (subject matter expert) feedback. Since the public safety domain is highly specialized, incorporating input from police officers was essential to refining the design for real-world usability. Balancing human-factors principles with SME needs gave me valuable insight into how design decisions directly impact professional users.
How has your time at the ETC prepared you for the work you've been doing this summer?
My experience at ETC trained me to be an effective team player across disciplines, which translated directly to my work at Motorola Solutions. Clear communication and understanding teammates’ needs have been crucial in developing high-quality products, and ETC prepared me to adapt and collaborate in that kind of multidisciplinary environment.
Name: Jose Mireles Macario
Role: Developer, ETC Outreach Team
Where are you working this summer and what are you doing?
I'm part of the ETC Outreach Team where we are developing a LEGO Fortnite Island and a LEGO board game.
What's been your favorite part of the internship so far?
My favorite part of work is watching playtesters break games in ways you didn't expect.
How has your time at the ETC prepared you for the work you've been doing this summer?
At the ETC, I have developed both my skills and my own voice in game design. For me, excellence is only part of the goal. What matters most is creating in a way that reflects who I am and producing work that no one else could replicate.