Luglio, 2021

Welcome to the latest edition of “My Path to Google,” where we talk to Googlers, interns and alumni about how they got to Google, what their roles are like and even some tips on how to prepare for interviews.

Today we spoke with Livia Seibert, a software engineer intern working virtually in Pennsylvania. Find out how a fun coding competition with her dad led her to becoming an intern at Google.

What do you do at Google?

I’m a software engineering intern. I’m working on a command line tool that automates the creation of experiments to make it safer, easier and faster for engineers to try out new changes. I like my project because I’m able to have a positive impact on other engineers by helping to speed up their workflow.

What made you decide to apply to Google?

At the beginning of my sophomore year of college, I decided to apply to software engineering internships for the first time. I had taken classes the summer before, but I did not have any internship experience at that point. Many internships I saw listed at other companies only took junior-year interns or were unlikely to consider applicants without experience, so I was really excited when Google talked about the STEP internship during a recruiting visit on campus, and I decided to apply for it.

How would you describe your path to Google?

I was first introduced to computer science when I was 13 because my dad had seen a YouTube video about the importance of coding and the lack of computer science education in schools across the U.S. I was pretty resistant to learning how to code at the time, since I went to a small all-girls school where coding wasn’t a super popular course of study. My dad ended up challenging me to see which of us could finish an online Python class fastest, and after a week he had given up on it and I ended up being super interested in the material. I taught myself how to code using online resources throughout middle school, and when I got to high school I was able to take CS classes. Since then, I’ve always known that I want to go into software engineering.

How did the application and interview process go for you?

I applied to Google directly. I was very nervous about the technical interview process because it was completely new to me, but it ended up being a much less stressful experience than I had anticipated. The engineers who conducted my interviews were incredibly kind and supportive, and each interview felt more like a conversation than the interrogation I was expecting.

What’s one thing you wish you could go back and tell yourself before applying?

One thing I wish I could go back and tell myself before applying is to have more confidence. I think that it’s easy to get intimidated by the large number of very talented people that apply to Google every year, and to experience imposter syndrome even once you’ve gotten the job. Instead, it’s important to focus on your own accomplishments and avoid comparing yourself to others.

Complete the following: “I [choose one: code/create/design/build] for…”

Inclusivity. As a woman in tech, I value making sure that underrepresented groups are able to have their voices heard in order to create tech that works for everyone.

Movies and TV can make us laugh, cry and even shape who we are. Our watchlists can be surprisingly revealing. We’re teaming up with entertainers, artists and cultural icons on a new Watch With Me series on Google TV to share their top picks and give you a behind-the-scenes look at the TV and movies that inspired them.

Laverne Cox is an Emmy-nominated actress and LGBTQ+ advocate. Despite spending plenty of time on camera, she’s also a fan of being in the audience. “I love movies, I love television,” she says. “I still watch television and film as a way to learn, to escape, to be moved, to laugh, to cry.”

We recently had a chance to sit down with Laverne to learn more about what she likes to watch — and what her own Google TV watchlist looks like. “My watchlist is all of who I am and everything that has shaped me or helped me understand myself better,” she says. “Understand humanity better. Understand the craft of acting and filmmaking better. And, it makes me smile.”

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series we’re doing featuring local publishers using Google News Showcase. Thanks to the three Argentinian publishers who shared their thoughts and insight on the impact that News Showcase is providing for their coverage. In the coming months we’ll have more from local News Showcase news partners around the globe. 

ADIRA, The Asociación de Diarios del Interior de la República Argentina, is a regional press association that brings together newspaper publishers throughout Argentina. Many of our partner publications have worked with Google over the years, through Google News Initiative, trainings and now nearly 50 of them are a part of Google News Showcase. Google’s efforts have been important in helping our journalism reach and develop stronger relationships with readers and diversify our revenue.

The transition from print to digital for newspapers outside the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires is slow and difficult, where smaller papers can’t generally afford to hire the necessary tech professionals to make digital changes needed to reach readers. But it has been easy for smaller publications to use News Showcase, helping them reach new audiences. 

News Showcase, alongside Google’s other product efforts and programming from the Google News Initiative, has great potential to grow and deepen reader relationships for newsrooms in Argentina through new ways to highlight stories, greater control over showcasing our brand and additional tools for paywalled content.

Here is how three local ADIRA publications — El Litoral, La Opinión de Rafaela and La Gaceta — are using News Showcase to expand their digital strategies and build relationships with readers. 

El Litoral

Magalí Suarez, Content Coordinator at El Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina

Founded in 1918, El Litoral is a regional newspaper in Santa Fe, Argentina, producing several supplements, specialized magazines, a second provincial newspaper, a TV channel and more. 

News Showcase came at a critical time for all media, especially for those of us who are strongly betting on digital growth. Even in the middle of an unprecedented health and economic crisis, we’ve continued to produce quality content for our readers. News Showcase allows us to “package” our journalists’ content, provide context to the information and offer readers more tools so they can inform themselves around stories responsibly. 

Overall News Showcase has allowed us to improve engagement by including related news, create panels that better position our stories/content for our target audience, highlight the journalism that distinguishes us from other news organizations and give our readers a way to get information and context in an easy, organized way.

We think News Showcase has helped us to solve complex challenges such as how to better engage with readers in a crowded news environment. This is a very good start in laying the foundations for sustainability in the future. 

During his undergrad, Deyrel Diaz attended a VR hackathon where he tried out an aircraft training demo. While Deyrel, a computer science (CS) student, had experience with 3D modeling and coding, seeing the results in action was all new. “This was the first time I’d seen the two mediums interact on such an immersive level,” he says. “Seeing how this simulation was used for real world training and research…I wanted to be a part of that.” Today, Deyrel is a PhD student studying Human-Centered Computing at Clemson University with a focus on mixed reality (AR/VR) research. He’s also a graduate of the most recent class of the CS Research Mentorship Program (CSRMP), one initiative by Google Research to support students from historically marginalized groups (HMGs) in computing research pathways. 

Recognizing that the work CS Researchers are doing has broad implications for billions of people across the globe, CSRMP aims to ensure that the community of researchers represents the experiences, perspectives, concerns and creative enthusiasm of all the people of the world, by supporting the pursuit of computing research for undergraduate and graduate students from HMGs through mentorship, peer networking and career exploration.

In June, CSRMP graduated a class of 281 students from 110 universities across the United States and Canada. We spoke with Deyrel to learn more about his experience and plans for his journey in computing research. Here’s what he had to say:

What motivated you to participate in CSRMP?

Through programs and conferences, I learned just how important it is to have representation in the development and design of technology. When I read about CSRMP, I saw the opportunity to not only help expand that community by connecting with other professionals in the field, but to also learn alongside some of the best and brightest students from around the world.

How has CSRMP influenced your research journey?

The pod meetings influenced my journey the most. I was able to build relationships with other phenomenal student researchers and my CSRMP mentor. We discussed the challenges we face while conducting computing research, and we shared lots of helpful tools and resources. These meetings were also a place to find inspiration and motivation, and helped me learn about other career fields, which I might incorporate into my future research.

What are you proudest of?

I’m proudest of winning two national fellowships that will fully fund my PhD studies. The support system my mentors created for me really helped guide me in the right direction, so it’s thanks to this strong mentorship I was able to accomplish this. Plus, having these fellowships gave me the time to take part in programs where I can mentor other up-and-coming underrepresented students and expose them to not only computing research, but graduate school in general.

What advice do you have for students like you who are curious about starting their journeys as researchers in computing?

The field of computer science touches anything and everything, and if there’s something it hasn’t, you could be the person who makes it happen. That said, there’s no reason for you to pursue something you don’t love, so seek out professors, hack-a-thons, demos or certificate programs to learn more about different fields and how you can use them in personal projects. Don’t wait for someone to tell you what to do, just start tinkering and create something you’d have fun using.

Congratulations to all of the students who graduated from the CS Research Mentorship Program in the first half of 2021! We look forward to supporting future students who are taking computing research by storm like Deyrel Diaz. Applications are now open for the September 2021 mentorship cycle – apply by July 28, 2021.