Meet Our Summer Intern - Sofia

EA’s internship program provides great opportunities for students to start and grow their careers while cultivating their passions along the way. This summer, we welcomed our first-ever remote #intEArn class. Learn how EA made Sofia feel welcomed and connected during the switch to a virtual internship experience.

Fast Facts:

• Name: Sofia Rodriguez
• Title: Customer Experience Research Intern
• Field of Study: MSc Human Centered Design and Engineering
• School: University of Washington

Describe yourself and your background. 
I grew up in the big city of Manila, Philippines, and at 18, moved to a tiny town called Leamington Spa in England to do my undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Warwick. Now, I live in Seattle, Washington where I’m doing my Master’s degree. I think my intercultural background has really influenced the way I think about people and the world.

What are you studying and why?  
I am studying Human Centered Design and Engineering. I spend most days learning about how people interact with each other, technology and the world around them. Then I create ways to make those interactions better. 

What drew you to EA?
When I was growing up, I wasn’t encouraged to play games because gaming wasn’t seen as beneficial. I think that gaming not only provides entertainment but also hones skills like strategy, which I use every day. When I applied to EA, I was really attracted to the motto ‘Inspire The World to Play’ for this reason. Being good at a game doesn’t end when you exit the game. You see the different skills everywhere. Also, the recruitment process was the best that I had encountered and really made me feel like the internship would be a great experience.

How do you think this internship will help you on your career path?
Being an Innovation Labs intern is giving me great experience in a field with a lot of emerging technology and teaching me to always ask “what if?” It is also a great opportunity to be at a big company and learn the nuances of that, as previously I worked at a start-up. 

What team are you working with? What projects are you working on for us? 
I work on the Innovation Labs Team, which is a part of Insights within the Worldwide Customer Experience group. My projects are all about exploring problem spaces that could help EA function better in the future, including exploring social channels, avoiding worker fatigue, and improving the help experience. 

What makes EA a unique place to intern?  
I think EA makes such an effort to make their interns feel welcomed and wanted. Interns are encouraged to be daring and make as much of their 12 weeks as they can. Also, in addition to being one of the few companies to completely switch all their interns to a virtual internship, the Next-Gen team members and my manager have all put so much work into making the internship experience as real as possible. 

What was your reaction to EA’s call for a virtual internship following safety protocols for COVID-19? How have you leveraged some perks or benefits from this remote internship?
I was incredibly grateful that the internship was continuing and moving to a virtual format and that EA made that decision in a timely manner. I watched a lot of internships get canceled and felt very lucky that EA was going to move forward with theirs. EA helped us to make sure we had a comfortable WFH environment, including sending us laptops if needed and hosting social events over Zoom so that we can meet other interns and maintain that intern experience. I go to as many of the socials and talks as possible and felt it helped not only my career but also my personal development. 

We acknowledge that you are interning during an international conversation on the systemic injustice, racism, and violence here in the United States. With that, it can be hard to bring yourself to work. What communities or conversations have you joined at EA to share your experiences or learn from others. Have you attended any events to further the conversation?
I joined several ERGs on Slack and attended the BEAT! Employee Resource Group’s Juneteenth event as well as took advantage of the volunteer opportunities that EA provided. There was also an ASPIRE support session for Asian and Pacific Islanders to process emotions during this time as NBPOCs. I also just finished attending an Equality Town Hall that was empowering and enlightening. As an international student, I feel supported and appreciate how much EA has done to open conversations and encourage self-education.

Tell us something we don’t know about you.
I love to cook and bake! If we were on-site, my team would definitely be getting daily baked goods. 

Learn more about our Next-Gen Talent program and apply to be a part of our next intern class.

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