By Teresa Ferreira, winner of 2020 Paper Wings scholarship
It is very difficult to know who we want to be at a professional level without having a
first work experience. We can imagine and take some guesses, but reality does not live
on dreams. That's why the Paper Wings Scholarship and my internship at Didimo was
extremely important for me to get to know myself a little better and know that for now,
I'm following a path that I'm enjoying.
After being awarded the Paper Wings scholarship, I received support that had an enormous impact on my first year of college, which ended up contributing to the internship as well. I can say that I felt that the first days at Didimo were the most impactful for me. There was a lot of new information and a very well-defined team rhythm and environment to which I had to adapt. Fortunately, everyone supported me and tried to
help me as much as possible, which allowed me to enjoy this experience right from the
start.
During the internship, I did UI Testing Automation. I had never done anything related to
this, so when I finished, I felt proud of myself since I felt I was capable to do much more
than I thought if I put my mind to it. During the time I was there I had to look for the
right tools, I had to plan the test cases for the Customer Portal and I had to implement
them. As expected, not everything was a bed of roses. Sometimes I was blocked, but as
I asked for help, everyone would try to help me as quickly as possible. Another thing I
noticed: I improved my communication skills. Every morning we had standups where we shared what we had done the day before and what we were planning to do that day. Over time I felt that this process became more and more natural and helped me plan effectively which made me feel more comfortable.
As expected with a first work experience, every day was an adventure, as there
was always something new to learn. However, it wasn't just the quick learning that
left a mark on me. In fact, what had the most impact on me was following the evolution
of a company and knowing its rhythm and the organization of its different teams. Everyone
feels that they belong there and that they can have a real impact on what they are
doing. This motivated me and made me proud to be able to say that I worked within an international team filled with such greatness and respect.
Now that a year has passed I can safely say that this scholarship and the people
associated with it are leading me to a place of success. Overall, both the Paper Wings
scholarship and the internship at Didimo exceeded my expectations, and I am sure these learning experiences will unlock more opportunities in my future!