By: Hailey Temple
As students from the School of Information Studies (iSchool) continue to find exciting jobs and internships, they show that the field of Information Technology knows no bounds both geographically and creatively. This summer, recent iSchool graduate Samii Ruddy is expanding her horizons as a front-end development intern at Viget Labs in Boulder, CO.
With three locations across the country, Viget Labs develops HTML5 responsive websites and mobile platforms for clients including the World Wildlife Fund, Puma, Lenovo, and National Geographic.
Although Viget Labs features several of these big-name clients, Ruddy’s internship largely focuses on creating personal projects using Viget Labs’ technology in an educational way, as Ruddy notes. Ruddy enjoys working in a more unconventional learning-oriented internship position, saying, “It’s selfless on Viget Labs’ part to let us come here are work with the products in an apprenticeship environment. It’s definitely interesting, and I like that they are ensuring that I really get something out of my experience.”
With accessibility to such resources, Ruddy is creating several products for Viget Labs. Her first project wass an interactive infographic about the wildfires that burned in Colorado this summer. Currently, Ruddy is collaborating with other interns to create an HTML5 game.
Ruddy enjoys working for a small company in an open environment, and compares the office space to other companies she saw during the iSchool's Spring Break in Silicon Valley trip.
“We have a young and innovative environment that makes the company so attractive to other young tech companies,” said Ruddy. “Even though we have fun, it is still streamlined and organized by project managers to make sure we get our work done.”
Although Ruddy is beginning to think about career prospects, she attributes her skills and experience to her time at the iSchool. With a concentration in web design and management, Ruddy says was able to develop her skills in website design that prepared her for the Viget Labs internship. Classes including Web Design and Management of Internet Services with Chris Kirkegaard and Advanced Web Design with Jeff Snyder laid the foundation for Ruddy to expand her skills throughout the summer. Ruddy is also interested in business and social media and she feels the iSchool prepared her to explore these fields.
“The iSchool did a wonderful job making be a jack of all trades because I know a little bit about so much. I specialize in web design, but I have an understanding and appreciation of a large portion of the technology field and feel so prepared for anything I want to pursue.”