Jason Valerio Peralta

College: Borough of Manhattan Community College

Education Level: Undergraduate

Career Interest: Software Engineer

I am a first generation student. I was born here in NYC, but my parents came from Mexico in 1996. I was never really social to begin with, but the pandemic did not make it any better for me since it hit during the second half of my junior year and my senior year was completely online. At the beginning of my 1st year in college most of my friends were from middle school except for 2 of them. My first year in college have changed the small circle I once had. I consider myself to be a curious person, which I feel that a lot of other people can say the same thing about themselves as well. Just like a lot of other people, I am not quite sure what I want to do with my curiosity, but I find it that doing more things that push me past my boundaries(or comfort zone) is necessary for my improvement in all aspects of my life.

What was your role?

I for the most part have been working on ways to efficiently train a money coach without having them go through extensive certification processes.

What did you work on?

What was the impact of your project?

The impact of our project holds a lot of weight for Unadat because it involves one of the key aspects to Unadat`s identity. Unadat is supposed to be different from other financial services with the introduction of money coaches and their role in the company. We understand that a service is being sold to a client. The client will be able to reach out to a money coach that will be able to help with coming up with a goal if it is needed as well as a road map. Since Unadat`s aim is to be different, the aim is to sell the service and not so much the person that is working as a money coach which then allows the company to respect the clients privacy and as well as the money coaches as Unadat does not wat to sell the clients data, Unadat simply wants to help as many people as possible achieve financial stability and financial literacy.

What did you learn or improve on from this internship or from your teammates?

All of my teammates are either incoming juniors, incoming seniors, or seniors that have already graduated. I have learned that many of the classes, especially the courses for computer science are very challenging but they were all worth the trouble. What this has taught me is to not get discouraged when faced with a difficult task and to analyze a problem from various point of views so that it can be solved.

What skills have you gained?

I have learned how actual organizing is like. The Jira board is something that is very helpful for organizing and assigning tasks in sprints and as well as the story points which is determined by the team. It evaluates how hard a task is, not how long it may take to complete a task. Time management is also something that I have gained because I use procrastinate about my work a lot more. I would always get my work done but it was always take me longer than it should have to complete a task.

What was the biggest roadblock you've overcome?

The biggest roadblock I have overcome is setting up a presentation for every Thursday. As I have stated, I am not very social which in turn causes me not to talk as much. The way I have gotten through presentations in high school was by saying my part as quickly as possible, but this meant my brain did not really register or process what I was saying, essentially my brain could not catch up with what I would say. This caused many awkward pauses in between my sentences and confusing my words when speaking which I still did here at Unadat. I have tried to talk slower and take in breaths when talking so I can properly understand where I am going with my presentation. It helps to have feedback when doing these presentations because it allows me to evaluate my work and my presentation.

How has company culture guided your work?

The company`s culture has greatly influenced the way I have tackled my tasks at Unadat. When I cannot figure something out, I feel encouraged to find a solution because I know that this is a safe working environment that promotes learning. I have also been encouraged to view the project in different aspects. My thoughts and ideas are also valued so it helps me get the work done because it is not so linear as it would be in some college courses.

What was your experience at Unadat?

I personally feel like I have had a pleasant experience working as an intern at Unadat. From the very first meeting on July 7th till the present day, I have felt welcomed by Sean, Dan, and my fellow interns. I have only received constructive criticism and not ill mannered advice from my peers and supervisors. I believe Unadat is a healthy environment for learning and teaching others when it is needed. Sean, who is a very busy person tries his best to meet with or message someone when they need clarification on a task or concept that is presented to us. He and Dan are very patient with their interns which enables us to feel like learning and continue growing this huge project that we have been fortunate enough to participate in for the past 5 weeks.

What was one big project you worked on during the internship? Can you walk me through the process?

One of the big projects I worked on was making a roadmap for for money coaches that would enable them to guide a client towards achieving their goal. First Haniya and I were brainstorming possible goals a money coach can help with. We came up with paying off a credit card, buying a house, paying off a mortgage, paying off a car, refinancing a car, paying off student loans, obtaining a small business loan, and planning for retirement. After this we broke each one of these goals into small sections that are the milestones, this way both the money coach and client have a rough idea on where to begin and it also allows them to see how much progress has been made to achieve this goal.

What advice would you give to future interns?

My advice for the next crop of interns is to not be afraid of starting their internship at Unadat because they will have a good working environment and good supervisors. Ask for help if you need it because it will save everyone time if the roadblock is addressed either by the team, Sean, or Dan. Be willing to learn and put to practice what you have learned.