Interns to Impact: Jemimah & Madison’s Pushpay Journey

When Jemimah and Maddy joined Pushpay as Summer of Tech interns, they had no idea it would be the start of something bigger. Their internships turned into full-time roles — and since then, they’ve been growing, learning, and making their mark in the tech industry.

We sat down with them to chat about what helped them get their foot in the door, how they approached those first few months, and the lessons they’d share with anyone hoping to turn a Summer of Tech internship into their first big career move.

What internship were you originally hired for through Summer of Tech? 

Jemimah: Software Engineer Intern (JS)

Maddy: A team that was modernising the branding service. This was a very front end heavy project that I enjoyed so much.

What is your role now, and how is it different from your internship role?

Jemimah: Software Development Engineer III. 

During my internship, I got to work on my own full stack project but with support from my buddy and the team I was assigned too of course. The team I was assigned to, at the time, was working on their own projects on top of supporting me with my own. What makes my role now different to my internship role is the dynamics of the team. Sure, the processes of the SDLC, interactions with stakeholders and other teams were all the same. However, I definitely felt a bit isolated from everyone else. 

A lot has changed since I had done my internship years ago. Back then, our internships operated as individual projects unlike now where all the interns work together in a team with their own dedicated Tech Lead and Senior/Intermediate Software Engineer. Now, like all the Devs here, I work in an Engineering team. Within my team, I contribute to the different aspects that make our team who we are. To the code bases we look after and to the culture of the team. Since starting full-time, I feel like I am more a part of my team than I was during my internship.

Maddy:  I am currently in the API and Integrations team. Heavily backend focused compared to my internship team this has allowed me to grow more as a developer widening my knowledge base. Giving me the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of what I want to work towards throughout my career.

What was the most rewarding project you worked on as an intern?

Jemimah: Since I only worked on one project, as an intern, the most rewarding project I worked on was that! I implemented a prototype feature that allowed Admins to customise automated messages to their donors whenever they gave through their Pushpay give links. I worked with React to get my frontend looking pretty, Node for all the backend logic and AWS to connect my project flow with the Pushpay infrastructure. My favourite parts of the project were; having the time to implement an out-of-scope enhancement like adding emojis to make their messages fun, and to be able to demo it with success during my presentation.

Maddy: At Pushpay you work on one project/feature as an intern team so we all get to learn and work through things together. The most rewarding thing I can take out of that experience is how we were able to collaborate and grow together. Not only was this fun, it was an incredibly supportive environment to learn in.

What helped you successfully transition from an intern to a graduate role? What challenges did you face in making that transition, and how did you overcome them?

Jemimah: I, myself, still had a year left of uni studies to finish but what truly helped me successfully move from an intern to a full-time role was keeping in contact with the network of people I had at Pushpay. As cheesy as it may sound, it was like kismet. I sent an email to my manager, at the same time she had sent me a text. We both reached out to each other to know whether I was looking for work or if they had openings at Pushpay. I was fortunate enough to have the transition happen as simple as that.

The main challenge for me was external. I joined as a full-time Software Development Engineer I a month after exams finished in my final year of uni. It was also at the time when NZ was ping-ponging back and forth between red-light and green-light Covid states. I had to start off fully remote, like everyone else at Pushpay which was a change from being in the office for all 10 weeks of my internship. I overcame this challenge by making the most out of working-from-home. Work was very accomodating with getting my equipment on time before my first day.

Maddy:  The support from my team members and asking heaps of questions. So many challenges for me the biggest thing is feeling like a burden at times so getting over those internal thoughts and reaching out for help early and often is really important.

What was your biggest learning moment or challenge during your internship and the start of your grad role? 

Jemimah: It was a surreal moment for me and probably my biggest learning, presenting my intern project in front of the entire office. 

I am a nervous presenter and I have tells! I shake in my hands and in my throat. During the Q&A portion of the presentation, I was asked a question along the lines of, "So have you been converted to the Software Development ways?". It occurred to me, as someone studying to graduate with a degree of Computer Systems Engineering, I had just completed an internship focusing on Software Engineering. And as much as I loved programming hardware at uni and finding different ways to apply that into other aspects of my life with my personal projects, I made the realisation that I also discovered my passion in software development. If you think about it, both have a lot of similarities. However, I always thought myself as someone getting my hands dirty and physically working on hardware. Software does the same but in a different way, which is where they split off from each other.

All of these thoughts happened in a second and I bursted out in tears. I think I was just overwhelmed with just finishing my presentation and having this epiphany that, that moment changed the course of my career. (Don't worry, I was able to re-compose myself and continue with the Q&A like "normal")

Maddy:  I guess an overarching learning that I will always have to remember is that everyone has that feeling of imposter syndrome. Feeling like you don’t belong in your role, at all levels. It's massive in any high pressure industry but ours is always evolving and no-one is ever going to know everything all the time so it's really important to give yourself some grace and accept that it's okay to not know all the answers.

How did your Summer of Tech internship set you up for success?

Jemimah: Getting the opportunity to connect with people in the industry was very valuable, and to me, helped set me up for success. People in the industry include people who had jobs and volunteered their spare time to support candidates like us and also other students and candidates that I had met at other Summer of Tech events like the Create Camp or Meet & Greets. 

Maddy: Put me in the position to learn from amazing people in the Pushpay team!

How can students make a strong first impression during their internships?

Jemimah:

1. Always be curious! Ask every question, no matter how simple they are - I should take my own advice sometimes.

2. Doing an internship means you're already stepping out of your comfort zone, so don't be too hard on yourself if you're trying to push yourself to get out there to make an impression. If they are the right company for you, they will notice you. In short, be yourself.

Maddy: I think focusing on what you can get out of the internship instead of what you can give as an intern. Employers should all be prioritising your learning so take all the opportunities that you can and show up with an attitude to grow as much as you can.

What should students & grads in the Summer of Tech programme focus on going into next year?

Jemimah: Making the most out of whatever you're doing! Set goals for yourself and reflect back on this at the end of the year. Ask yourself: What do you want to learn right now? What do you want to get out of the internship you're doing? What fascinates you? If you're able to answer these questions like, "I learnt this... and that ... I made this..." by the end of the year, you'll know that you've succeeded in what you want to achieve. Even if you fail and say, "I wasn't able to get this working..." you're still learning. It may seem very obvious reading this, but we sometimes judge ourselves so hard that its tough for us to take a moment and reflect back on the hard work we have done.

Maddy: Getting on the front foot with a base level understanding of AI concepts that you are interested in will help a lot at the moment. You are not expected to be an expert at anything when you are starting out in your career but being interested and curious about this is good!