Tag: SAS

SAS day 5

We started the day in building C as we all met together to discuss the video project we began last week. We all split up into our groups and continued filming on sites all over the SAS campus. My group came up with the idea to do a dance challenge as a call to action to raise awareness about the water crisis. We introduced some facts about the issue and asked people to give us more information. if they could not do so, they had to perform a dance move on camera. We had so much fun filming these clips all days and really enjoyed the creative input we were each allowed to include in our video. We had Papa John’s Pizza for lunch so that we could continue working through the lunch hour. We finalized our video as the day closed and we can’t wait to present it on Thursday.

our group filming outside

working lunch (pizza party)

blog post day 5 ryan dancing

Ryan’s dance challenge for our video project

Day 4 at SAS

Today is day 4 of my work experience at SAS. Instead of all of us separating into different departments, we all convened to receive a presentation by a team that worked on an app called GatherIQ. GaterIQ is an app that gives insights on some of the world’s biggest problems and help to create world change. Just by learning about the information on the app, you are able to collect coins that convert to real money and can go directly to a non-profit organization. After the presentation, we split up into groups to act as testers for the app and give some options and feedback as to the usability and interface design parts of the app.

In the evening, we split up into groups to work on individual projects. The project is about creating a video that could go viral to help create awareness of a pressing issue and change. We will finish the project on Monday and hope it will turn out as fantastic as the ice bucket challenge videos.

SAS day 4

We began the day in building R today. We met with the larger group of Cary Academy kids that were all at SAS for a morning meeting. We discussed the importance of usability, meaning how easily customers can use SAS products. We then got into small groups and tested one of SAS’s new websites. After lunch, we had another meeting so that the team could present a new video project. We split up into new groups and ideated for a video that was supposed to include a captivating narrative in order to raise awareness for the water crisis.

 

Building R atrium (cafeteria)

My lunch today

My group for the video project in a conference room

SAS Day 4

SAS Day 4 was different than the other days in that there was no job shadowing. In between this week’s shadowing session and next week’s shadowing session we have two days to brainstorm and come up with a video idea that could become “viral” in explaining about the earth’s lack of clean water. SAS has an app called GatherIQ that consists of informing the public about several world issues at hand. Today we focused on making a section on the app addressing clean water. First, however, we helped the GatherIQ team polish their main website. We went through a given form used to give feedback on every aspect of the website. We not only described what was wrong with it but also time how long each task took. We then all came together and discussed what we liked about the site and what we disliked. After discussing the website, we went to eat lunch at building R. They had a whole burger bar where they made custom burgers and chicken sandwiches. We ate lunch with the whole group for the first time since when we started on Tuesday.

After lunch, we were given the task of making a viral video with about clean water. We split into groups and went though the design thinking process that was explained to us earlier that day. We first brainstormed what makes a video go viral (talent, controversy, celebrity influence, …) and filled the whiteboard full of sticky notes with ideas. We were interrupted midway through our thinking process because it was already 3:00 and time to go. We will probably work on our project over the weekend and continue it the whole day when we get back on Monday.

Day 3 at SAS

It was another exciting day at SAS. In addition to Max, an associate developer that we met yesterday, we met with Jerry Holland and Scott today to learn more about how they got to where they are today. Scott first got interested in computer science when he got his first computer and his friends all wanted to make copies of game “illegally”. He then went to Purdue university and interned at many different software development companies to pay for his tuition. This gave him plenty of work experience. One of the things he mentioned was that he really loves computer science because it is forever changing and innovating. Some of the programming languages he learned in high school and college is almost completely obsolete now.

After the two meetings, we went to building A for lunch. After which, we drove around campus for a tour. It was really cool to see the various buildings and even a solar farm that powers some of Cary’s electricity. Another interesting thing was that in front of each building there is always a cool abstract art piece to complement the building. These two days with Mrs.Holland have been absolutely amazing. She has been a wonderful host.

 

day 3 at SAS

We started the day with a 10AM meeting in a conference room across the hall. It was a mock panel meeting with 3 interns who were chosen to work at SAS for that summer. They gave us advice on college, internships, and choosing a major. We then went to building C to grab lunch from the dining hall and head to a different conference room for a book club meeting. The book club is run by a few wonderful women at SAS who love to read and discuss what the book was about. We talked about the book The Only Woman in the Room. It was so cool to hear how passionate these women were about reading and the stories they choose to discuss. I was even able to offer my own book suggestion for future meetings. They asked us about what we’ve been reading lately and I told them about all the books I read about SNL while I was in New York. One woman told me that her close friend at SAS is best friends with a writer at SNL. She gave me his contact and I can’t wait to reach out to him and learn more about what he does! We then went over to building A and got insight on the marketing side of SAS.

 

conference room in Building A

Poke Bowl from the Building C cafe

 

Pauline Ashcraft (host for this week) and I in Building A before leaving for the day

an Amethyst from Dr. Goodnight’s extensive rock collection

Day 3 at SAS!

Day 3 was a lot of fun, as we explored building C and A!

At the start of the day, in building T, we met with some of the current computer science interns at SAS. They shared with us their experiences through high school and college and what led them to pursuing internships here. Each one of them had amazing stories to share and gave us wonderful advice about balancing careers, mental health, college classes, and everything in between. Two main takeaways from this experience were

    1. Always take risks: Always go to the career fair, even if it’s fall of your freshman year. You never know what opportunities will arise and where they will take you! Experience everything, and this process is crucial in helping you find your passion.
    2. Networking is key: Talk to and be friendly with as many people as you can on campus! You never know what experiences these people have and who they know. In the future, these people very well may play a huge part in setting you up with internships and even providing job opportunities.

Afterwards, we toured the 3rd newest building at SAS: Building C. This is where most of the customers will come and experience the executive business lounge. Floor 6 also holds Dr. Goodnight’s office, and it was really cool to be able to see that!

This building also holds one of the best cafeterias on campus. Niki and I took our lunches to go, shadowing Pauline in her book club, where we joined 6 other women in a glass conference room. The book they discussed was called “The Only Woman in the Room” by Marie Benedict, and I can’t wait to read this over the summer!

We then talked to Roger Lang, a Principal Sales Enablement Specialist for Risk in Building A, as he guided us through the newest building (Building A). This building is actually the tallest in Cary at 9 floors, and we learned that since it was so tall, the Cary firetrucks did not have a ladder to accommodate for this, so Dr. Goodnight bought a new one that works for them, just for this building! 

Finally, we said goodbye to Pauline Ashcraft, our host and Senior Associate Business Operations Specialist. She was an amazing host and we learned so much from her this week. Thank you Pauline!

SAS Day 3

Day 3 at SAS included more in-depth interviews within the marketing field as well as exploration of other fields relating to marketing. I first met with designers that created the booths for the SAS Global Forum conference, which included several hubs where SAS could display their work and products to potential clients. Each hub has a booth that had to be coherent with each other and look unified. The designers ran me through their design process from start to finish; starting off in creating visuals in Adobe Illustrator, putting the panels together I’m Adobe InDesign, and making a 3D model of each booth in SolidWorks. Meeting with more than one designer that had the same job gave me a good idea of how individual style affects a given task. After that, we went to a meeting room where we met many creators and designers that showed us posters, mugs, T-shirts, stickers, and anything that contained a SAS logo or a clever catchphrase. We all discussed each piece of artwork and said what we thought of each one. For the past two days, I have gone to a different building to eat lunch, and today was no different. We ate lunch at the beautiful building R which had a completely different set of foods, including rice and refried beans, burgers, pizza, and an assortment of desserts. At SAS any employee can go to any of the massive and diverse dining halls and get completely different meals and environments.

After lunch, we explored other buildings outside marketing, starting with the Film production building. First, we went to the theater where we saw all the behind-the-scenes technology that went into a live panel in front of an audience. We then went to a soundproof movie studio, which was among the only 3 studios of its kind in North Carolina. Instead of working with a private company to shoot ads or make videos, SAS has a profesional-grade movie studio comparable to those at Hollywood. After, we went to the sound branch, where there were several employees that worked only on perfecting the sound on the countless voice-overs and videos that SAS shoot. Even though SAS has nothing to do with audio and video, they have a complete, professional-grade audio and video branch in their company. Finally, we went to the printing and cutting sector where SAS made all of their premium-grade books, manuals, panels, stickers, shirts, and anything that the designers created. Again, SAS does all the printing through the company itself instead of through an independent company. The printing warehouse included several complex printers and machines that could do anything from printing onto metal sheets to making sculptures and cutouts. The third day at SAS showed me where the designers’ work goes after creating a graphic and how it is developed to the customers’ needs.

Day 3

In my final day shadowing Ms. Holland, I began with two separate one-hour meetings with different developers. They both had many different insights to offer, but very different stories. The first has worked for several years at AS, but before that was a part of several small companies and has really experienced everything possible in the industry. He taught himself to program when he was very young and has a large knowledge base – in fact, he was able to switch positions at SAS with no warning and no hiccup. He shared insights that he’s developed over his career and gave us advice on how to best prepare for our own futures.

Next, we met with a semi-recent employee at SAS who was much closer to our own age. He talked a lot about his experiences in high school and college that led him to selecting this career path. He offered a lot of memorable advice that was very relatable, and showed us some of the pretty cool stuff he gets to do each day.

After our meetings, we went to lunch- With Ms. Holland, the people we met with today, people from our meetings from yesterday, and new interns. It was great to see such a positive work environment- people from different departments that were not only coworkers, but friends. After lunch, we got to see all of the amazing buildings that make up SAS campus- including the solar farm- in our tour around the campus. It truly is a remarkable place, and an enormous one at that.

After our tour, we returned to Ms. Holland’s office and watched her work and help other people. Then, after some final words, our last day with Ms. Holland was over! We said our final goodbyes and thank-yous and left through the lobby.

Day 2 at SAS

May 29th, 2019

Day 2 of the work experience involved job shadowing Mrs.Holland, a software engineer that worked on the testing side of the SAS product. We first started the day with a meeting with Mr.Scott, the project manager, Paige, a coworker of Mrs.Holland, and two college interns to brief them on what specifically her team did. The coolest part of her presentation is where she was able to automate the testing of a test case by having the computer mimic all the steps a person would take to use the application in very fast speed(logging in, adding data, etc).

After the meeting we went to building C for lunch. The food was amazing as always. I decided to get sushi and a chicken sand-which to spice it up from yesterday’s pizza. After lunch, we went on a tour to see Dr.Goodnight’s gemstone collection. It was said that he collected over 400 kinds of gemstones from all over the world, including Brazil, China, Russia, and the Republic of Congo.

At the end of the day, we met with someone on the development side of the product. He just graduated from the University of Illinois and has only worked at SAS for 9 months. I learned a lot about what his job entails and how he choose to major in computer science and why he has chosen SAS.  Tomorrow we will be taking a campus tour. I can’t wait to see other parts of SAS that I have not yet been.

 

Two of Dr.Goodnight’s gemstones

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