The Virtru 2020 Internship Experience

As Virtru’s People Operations Associate, I spend most of my days working on recruiting, hiring, and people engagement initiatives, which also includes overseeing the company’s internship program. While this summer wasn’t exactly what anyone was expecting, each of our interns remained fully committed and engaged throughout the internship, despite an entirely remote workforce and uncertainty in their education plans due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

From our very first introductory calls last Spring, to their official first day back in June, the 2020 intern class blew me away with their excitement to dive in and learn about all areas of the business. They wasted no time getting fully immersed in their positions and teams. From Day 1, they were ready to take on day-to-day tasks, participate in weekly check-ins with one another and me, get to know the rest of the company through virtual events, lead Innovation Week projects, and contribute to Virtru’s DE&I initiatives. Despite the challenging cards that 2020 dealt us, I continue to be amazed by their openness, hard work, and desire to roll up their sleeves and learn as much as possible.

While I hope we will all be able to come together as a company soon and that next year’s internship program will be in person, I am proud of the way our team members came together to support an amazingly talented group of interns this summer.

I asked the group to reflect back on their summer internship with Virtru and share their takeaways with you: 

Cybersecurity Internship Reflections

Liz Healy, Software Engineering Intern

“I’ve always been interested in security but what drew me to Virtru was the company’s clear commitment to data privacy and a new focus on providing developers with the tools they need to incorporate data protection into their projects. My previous experience in cyber was in system compliance and this summer I was looking to not only see the software development side of security but also experience the day to day of working on a software engineering team – and I found all that and more at Virtru. 

“I was not handed busy work but rather welcomed and integrated into the team where I would make important contributions to our open-source products that are now in production. In working as part of that team, I got to experience scrum methodology and agile development and work with new technologies, frameworks, and languages. I’ve gained so much from my experience at Virtru this summer that I will take with me in my final year of school and in my career. Specifically, I’ve learned to quickly adapt to new code bases and new technologies, to think ahead to ensure my code is scalable and easily extendable as the product grows, and the importance of enjoying my work.”

Jack McGeary, Finance Intern

“I chose Virtru for my internship this summer because I wanted to understand the inner workings of a financial model from the perspective of an established startup. As a rising senior at the George Washington University, double majoring in finance and economics, this internship helped me build off my previous experiences and prepare for a future career in which an understanding of technology and security is critical. 

“In my role, I was given the opportunity to construct my own financial models based on a general framework, which allowed me to assist the management team in decision making. 

One of the other highlights of my internship experience was the company culture at Virtru. Every employee was extremely supportive and went out of their way to make my experience as meaningful as possible.”

Elizabeth Redko, Customer Experience Intern

“Coming from the marketing sphere, it has been very refreshing for me to see that even thoughVirtru is predominantly a SasS company, there is a great focus on our customers’ evolving needs throughout their post-sale experience.

“Throughout the internship, I learned a number of things about the internal operations of Virtru and a few things about myself that made me a more analytical and proactive professional. I am very grateful for the experience because I learned that it takes a combination of discipline, motivation, and asking the right questions in order to take on a given challenge.”

Nic Feanny, Software Engineering Intern

“Coming into a software engineering internship, it’s assumed you will be exposed to and learn new technologies; or improve upon what you already know. My biggest takeaway was being able to work with a team and utilize technologies that bridge the gap between the team and the goals they were striving to achieve. My internship helped me understand the software engineering process at a professional level and what is expected of me upon graduation.”

Hannah Evans, Product Analytics Intern

“I wanted to work for an innovative company with a great culture, so I am grateful to have worked at Virtru this summer. To start, the Virtru interview process was an awesome experience that accurately represented what it’s like to work at Virtru. Every employee I interviewed with was intelligent, passionate, and made me feel comfortable. 

“My manager invited me to his calls with different teams throughout the summer so I could really see where the Product Analytics/Data Analytics projects fit across the company, which was valuable for my career. I learned how these teams develop their own objectives and key results and how they define metrics to drive these results. I also got to learn about retention and engagement, use cases, SQL/Python, Amplitude, and IoT. It was an awesome summer with an awesome team!”

Jimmy Vazzana, Sales Intern

“As the Sales Intern, I was fortunate enough to report to Andrew, in addition to working alongside the SDR team. The comradery and team atmosphere were so evident and I felt immediately connected with each member of the team, albeit in a remote environment. 

“One of my biggest takeaways from this position is the value of prospecting. Andrew’s famous words of wisdom are “Work smart, not hard.”  This is a skill that every successful salesperson must utilize and I feel as though the skills and competencies I have gained at Virtru set me up nicely for a future career in sales.

“Another thing about the position that was so rewarding was the impact on others. Virtru’s solutions help a multitude of organizations safely and securely share sensitive information. As a sales rep for Virtru, I appreciated the fact that what I was doing was more than just generating business. I was helping companies ensure that they were their sensitive information was protected in addition to meeting various compliance requirements.

“I also was able to get to know the interns from other departments at Virtru. We connected several times every week to simply catch up and share our experiences with one another. We also spent time playing virtual games with each other and bonding on a personal level. I am incredibly grateful for my experience this summer and am confident that others will enjoy similar experiences in years to come.”