Discovering Drupal, teamwork and tech: Shamir’s story

Every year, we welcome young people to our office to do their mandatory two-week internship with us here at 1xINTERNET. In Frankfurt, it’s part of the 10th-grade curriculum, and we have loved opening our doors to show students what it’s like to work in a software company like 1xINTERNET.

Our interns get to experience real life at the office: they join meetings, get hands on tasks, and follow our academy program with guidance from a mentor on the team. They usually start by learning the basics of CSS and HTML, and, if time allows, they even dive into Drupal.

This year, our intern is Shamir, a student from a local school in Frankfurt. He’s always been interested in web development and has already helped his family build some simple websites.

First tasks and impressions

On his very first day, Shamir joined an online meeting with our Sales & Marketing team to learn how we organize activities. Then he was given an office task, counting our delivery of t-shirts and pullovers for the team heading to DrupalCon in October before shadowing one of our developers, Majid, who showed him what a typical client project looks like. And that was just day one!

Over the following days, Shamir shared his impressions with us. His first thought when arriving at the office was how small and cozy the headquarters felt and how naturally everyone spoke English in meetings. He soon realized how important communication and teamwork are in our daily work.

First challenges and inspiration

One of his highlights was getting to work with Drupal for the first time. “It was fun to build something and improve more and more,” he said. The biggest challenge, though, was speaking English: “I understood almost everything, but speaking was harder than expected.”

When asked to describe 1xINTERNET’s culture in three words, he quickly chose: "welcoming, international, supportive". His time here has also strengthened his career ambitions: “Before the internship I could imagine working in the IT industry, and now even more.”

If he could switch roles with anyone for a day, Shamir would love to step into the shoes of one of our managing directors to see how decisions are made and how the company is organised.

Reflecting on the experience

Shamir is currently in the 10th grade at the Wöhlerschule in Frankfurt. Reflecting on his time with us, he summed it up nicely:

“I am thankful for the opportunity to learn here and for the kindness of everyone.”

We’re equally thankful for having Shamir with us, it’s always inspiring to see young talent taking their first step in a workplace, exploring the digital world and bringing fresh energy into our office!