Forge

On #InternationalInternDay we celebrate our interns! CEO Pinakin Patel sat with Juliette Bestman and Himani Patel, and Forge interns Shamsul Haque, Melissa Zheng, Isaac Tabor, and Simon Anderson to share his insight, leadership, and wisdom. Our interns were introduced to the world of #GovernmentContracting through #Contracts, #DataScience, and #SoftwareDevelopment. While this is a great opportunity for the interns, it is an even greater opportunity for IT Concepts, Inc to learn and lean into fresh perspectives, innovative ideas, and what the next generation is bringing (spoiler: they are bringing brilliance, motivation, ambition, and more!) Staff from across the firm joined Joel Klein, Technical Director of Data Science to celebrate and appreciate the contributions from our class of interns! ? #DrivenToDeliver #Teamwork #Innovation #CustomerCentric #Integrity #HereWeGrow

I am excited to share that I am the new Executive Director of Forge! Forge (formerly known as “HackCville”) has been close to my heart since I first joined in 2017 as a student in the Launch Internship Program.?As an English and Psychology major at the University of Virginia, I felt uncertain about how my liberal arts education would translate into a career, but participating in the flagship Launch program provided me with invaluable skills and experience in marketing, paving the way for my first job. Since then, I’ve stayed actively involved with Forge as an instructor, fellow, and alumni. The professional and skill-building experiences I gained here have been instrumental in shaping my early career, and I know many students have had similar transformative journeys. As I step into this role, I am incredibly optimistic about Forge's future. I inherit a legacy of 12 years of impactful nonprofit work, supported by inspirational leaders like Spencer Ingram, Chip Ransler, Daniel Willson, Andy Page, and Amanda Coombs. I look forward to continuing our mission of empowering young people as they embark on their careers!?

?? Building 3 Apps in 3 Weeks I recently completed an intensive Software Engineering training through Forge’s Launch Program, culminating in the successful development of three functional apps and a significant expansion of my technical skills. A heartfelt thank you to the exceptional Forge team Allison Garrett, Amanda Coombs, Saloni Chaswal, dedicated SWE TAs, Byron Richards Simon Anderson, and experienced alumni instructor Mitch Gillin for their steadfast support and guidance throughout this transformative experience. Special appreciation goes to my collaborative teammates Pine Netcharussaeng, Simrith Ranjan, Jason Pham, Abhinav Attaluri, Kening Zhao, Vivi Thai, Anh Nguyen, Anna Batman, Patrick Yuson, and Omar Hashi! During this program, I utilized a versatile toolkit including Figma, React, JavaScript, Docker, Trello, Express and GitHub. I sharpened my foundational SWE skills in data creation and operation with Google Firestore, integration of Web APIs (Spotify, Edaman, OpenAI), and the agile methodology for goal setting and achievement. Following summer training, I eagerly started my summer internship with Voltus, where I am excited to further refine my SWE skills and contribute meaningfully to an exceptional team and organization!

After three weeks of intense hands-on learning and skill-building, I’m thrilled to share that I’ve kickstarted my internship journey as a full-stack developer at ENSCO, Inc. under the ENSCO Rail subsidiary. ENSCO Rail is a leading provider of automated and autonomous track inspection systems, vehicle dynamics analysis and simulations, and large-scale systems integration for federal and commercial railways. ? A huge shoutout to the incredible team at Forge for their unwavering support and guidance throughout this transformative experience. Thanks to the Launch Internship Program, I’ve honed my Software Engineering skills, including: ? ???????????????? ????????????????: Utilizing Google Firebase to build and manage databases ?????? ?????????????????????? ????????????????????: Seamless containerization and deployment of web applications with Docker, Render, and Netlify ?????? ????????????: Understanding and implementing the Model-View-Controller design and CRUD operations using Express.js and React.js ?????????? ??????????????????????: Using scrum for goal setting and project management with Trello ?????????????? ??????????????: Proficient use of GitHub for collaboration and version control. I look forward to applying these skills in my internship at ENSCO. Thank you Byron Richards, Simon Anderson, and everyone on my various teams for providing a wonderful learning experience! #ENSCO #ENSCOBeAPartOfIt #ENSCOImpact #softwareengineering #fullstack

After three weeks filled with hands-on and skill-building training, I’m absolutely thrilled to announce that I’ll begin a new position as a Content Marketing Intern at Arbo on Monday! I would like to thank Carey Perlozzo and Craig W. Heilman for welcoming me with open arms, and for their support throughout this process. I am looking forward to a summer full of learning and hard work! I would also like to give a special shoutout to the team at Forge -- especially Lydia MacKenzie, Lacy Callahan, and Catherine Cura -- for their unwavering support and guidance throughout this transformative experience. Thanks to their Launch Internship Program, I’ve honed invaluable skills in digital marketing, such as harnessing organic and paid social media marketing tools like Facebook and Google Ads Manager, orchestrating targeted email marketing campaigns with Mail chimp, and extracting actionable business insights using Google Analytics. Once again, I am so grateful for the possibility to learn and grow with Arbo. Here’s to a summer filled with exciting opportunities and valuable experiences!