WIMTACH Student Profile: David Pietrocola

As his second year in the Centennial College Software Engineering Technology program began, David Pietrocola was eager to get professional work experience. He knew getting a Software Engineering position at this stage would be hard. So, when he applied and got a Student Researcher position at WIMTACH, he was excited for the chance to learn. Upon joining the development team at WIMTACH, David began gaining crucial knowledge and growing as a student developer while getting accustomed to the office work environment. As a WIMTACH Student Researcher, he was offered an opportunity to gain various new skills in software engineering, preparing him for the next steps in his career. “This was my first job, and I could not have dreamed of a better one,” he said.

As he joined the WIMTACH team, he was tasked with working on a project for the Reading Partnership. This project aimed to develop a platform to deliver literacy-focused programs and resources, and David was assigned the position of a student Back-end Developer. Throughout the project, he was responsible for multiple assignments, which greatly inspired him. “It felt so motivating to know that I am being trusted with such important tasks,” he said. David has worked on the design of the database for the website, utilizing various tools and resources that he was offered at WIMTACH. He was especially surprised and honoured when he was assigned his own workstation at the WIMTACH office. “Getting my own work desk with the state-of-the-art PC was certainly amazing,” he said. With the great tools at David’s disposal, he continued working with his team and taking on the initiative to help his peers with the back-end infrastructure of the website. “WIMTACH provides me with all the necessary resources to succeed every day,” he said.

With WIMTACH, David also had the opportunity to expand his industry-specific knowledge and skills. When it was decided that David and his team would use Amazon Web Services (AWS) for their back-end architecture, they began looking for opportunities to get insight into how AWS works. David took the initiative and reached out to another Student Researcher team at WIMTACH for advice. For the entirety of the next day, David, his team, and the invited Student Researcher with experience in AWS studied how they would implement this software into their project. “While we were learning about AWS, I even forgot to take a lunch break. The discussions were so interesting, and I was so involved, I completely lost track of time and absorbed all the knowledge I could,” he said. This knowledge was crucial to equip him for further growth as a specialist.

David’s challenging assignments at WIMTACH were a great test and a chance to develop soft skills essential for his career. David improved his time management abilities as he was required to meet tight deadlines for the project in addition to his college assignments. He also displayed initiative in his work by helping his peers and trying his best to make the project flawless. However, at every point in his internship, David received support from the WIMTACH team. “I always had the option to reach out for help, advice and assistance from my peers and management,” he said.

David continues his work with WIMTACH and passionately looks forward to new opportunities to develop his skills as a Software Engineer. “I want to get the chance to work on a project from its inception to its completion,” he said. “Knowing that your input is essential is truly inspiring, and WIMTACH offers such knowledge.”

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