David spent last summer working as an IT engineering intern at TJX Companies in Marlborough, Massachusetts, working on a cybersecurity threat analysis team.
David spent most of his time working on a project that involved creating an app that would ultimately be evaluated at the end of the internship. In addition to his project work, David also participated in coffee chats with other employees at the company to gain insight, learn from their experiences and expand his professional network.
David found his internship through a personal connection and says his Merrimack network security classes prepared him for the internship by establishing foundational knowledge on databases and web protection.
During his internship, David strengthened his skills and leadership by working on teams, collaborating on professional projects and further developing his cybersecurity knowledge. Throughout the experience, he gained hands-on experience with various types of scanning, including firewall scanning and ad hoc scanning, and building dashboards to track and monitor different IP addresses.
At the conclusion of his internship, David was offered a full-time position as an engineer 1. In this role, he will work on the technical side of fixing platforms and tracking IP addresses. He will also be working with bug fixes to make sure all platforms and apps people are using are working properly.
David said he’s excited to work and get real hands-on experience as well as grow his network. He appreciates TJX’s genuine culture. David said, “It’s really homey. You go there, and people care about you.” David said, “It always seems impossible until it’s done, and what once felt out of reach became one of the most rewarding milestones of my journey, proving that real growth begins the moment you step into the unknown and realize you belong.”
