Delvin Marimo is a second-year MIMS student. Prior to the I School, Delvin received his bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Union College in Schenectady, New York. This summer, he interned at Amazon Web Services as a Data Engineer Intern.
Describe a typical day at your internship.
Since it was in person, I usually started the day by grabbing a free cup of tea or coffee from the cafeteria. Then, I would join the daily stand-up meeting in the morning. After that, I had a brief check-in with my mentor to share updates on my project. Most of my day was spent working on project tasks, though I sometimes had additional meetings with team members to get feedback on my progress. I also made time to learn a new skill, often by exploring features that other team members were working on. If there was an intern event scheduled that day, I attended those as well.
What was the most valuable thing you learned at your internship?
The most valuable lesson I learned was not to focus solely on the assigned project. It’s important to quickly learn about the product your team is building and find ways to contribute beyond the specific scope of your goals. Doing this helps you see yourself as part of the team, not just as an intern. You have to show genuine interest in everything your team is working on, especially because your project is often tied to what they’re building
What was a highlight of your internship?
One of the highlights of my internship experience was captaining a team that went on to win the annual AWS Fintech Hackathon. Leading this team not only allowed me to apply my technical skills in a fast-paced environment but also allowed me to strengthen my leadership and collaboration abilities. It was incredibly rewarding to work with peers from different backgrounds, drive the project vision, and ultimately achieve first place.
What was the biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge was adapting quickly to a completely new tech stack and workflow. At first, it felt a bit overwhelming to get up to speed with the tools and processes that the team was already using daily. But I saw this as an opportunity to grow, and by asking questions, learning from my mentor, and exploring on my own, I was able to get comfortable and contribute meaningfully. Looking back, that steep learning curve ended up being one of the most rewarding parts of the internship.
How did your work at the I School prepare you for this role?
The I School had a huge influence on my preparation. Courses like Front-End and Back-End Web Architecture and Intro to User Experience Design were especially impactful during my internship. Coming from an electrical engineering background, taking these classes beforehand made a big difference in equipping me for the role. In addition, working on a research project through an independent study, which I did as part of the Big Ideas Contest and MIMS final project (FloodNavigator) made it much easier to do research and implement my assigned internship project.
Any advice for first-year MIMS students as they prepare for their internships?
Give yourself the chance to truly learn in the classroom. Most of the material covered in class will show up during your internship, and you don’t want to regret not taking it seriously, especially the core classes that might not seem as exciting at first. MIMS offers a good balance of both tech-heavy and less technical classes. Mastering both is fundamental to any tech role you pursue. So, I encourage you to take all the core classes seriously; they will be invaluable when you’re on the job.
Did your internship influence your career plans after graduation?
Yes. My internship introduced me to new technologies in AI and machine learning. As a result, I’m now taking more classes oriented toward those areas. As a data engineer, I want to broaden my skills in fields that are relevant to the technologies most companies are implementing today.
