KENNESAW, Ga. | Dec 20, 2019

KSU graduate's internship at Google opens up new opportunities

When Josh Lucas transferred to Kennesaw State University to pursue a degree in interactive design, he never dreamed that it would lead to an internship with Google.

Competing against roughly 40,000 other students, Lucas was one of the 1,500 students selected for an internship at the tech giant for a summer internship in 2019. After a months-long interview process, Lucas arrived at the Sunnyvale Mountain View Google campus in California and was assigned to a team working on the design of the company’s well-known email client, Gmail.

“During the hiring process, there’s a ‘host-matching’ portion where interns are assigned to groups based on their skills and experience,” said Lucas. “The portfolio I submitted with my application included work that I had done on apps that had a focus on both the consumer facing and enterprise users. So when given the opportunity to work for a communication product like Gmail which catered to both types of users, I really wanted it in.”

Working at Google was everything Lucas expected it would be and more.

“My day would begin at about 9:30 a.m. with meetings and discussions about plans for the day, then I’d either check emails or attend events with the other interns and then into the design work with the Gmail team until the evening,” he said. “It was an incredibly creative and fun place to work where people were able to try new ideas.”

As for his living arrangements, Lucas said that he got the full Google treatment.

“It was great. A stipend was provided by Google and a shuttle picked me up to bring me to campus every day. The shuttle ran throughout the campus and food was always available.”

One of his favorite parts of the experience was the opportunity to work with other people passionate about design, and have the opportunity to collaborate, and explore the area.

“The office was unique and the campus was beautiful. They also planned a lot of events for the interns with chances to network and tour parts of California,” he said.  Depending on what team he was working with that day, Lucas could take the Google bus from South Bay up to San Francisco and enjoy the sights and experiences of California.

Lucas says that his coursework at KSU prepared him well for his internship.

“My classes at KSU focused on working in groups, and at Google it’s all about working as part of a team so I was ready to collaborate the second I started my internship,” Lucas said.

As for his future, Lucas is currently in the ‘host-matching’ portion of the interview process and is hopeful that his skills will be a good fit for one of the Google teams.

Regardless of what happens though, he says that his experiences at KSU and Google have set him up for future success and he is optimistic that he will be able to take what he has learned and apply it to help make technology more user-friendly for everyone.

—Andrea Judy

Photo submitted

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A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 45,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.