The Symba Spotlight Part Four: Jack McClelland
This week, we feature Jack McClelland, a computer science and finance student at Boston College. Jack is spending his summer working on a startup called BusWays. Along the way, he is learning important project management skills at his remote internship and has some tips for first-time remote interns. Check out his spotlight below!
Tell us about yourself.
My name is Jack and I'm a student at Boston College studying Computer Science and Finance. This summer I'm helping my friend with product activities for his startup and working on projects for Accel, Amity Ventures, and Contrary Capital. I'm from the SF Bay Area and am a fan of Bay Area teams, all things outdoors (camping, skiing, scuba), and music (festivals, DJing, producing).
Tell us about your remote internship. What is your title, and what are the projects and daily tasks you work on?
As a Product Manager for BusWays, I lead daily engineering team stand-ups and coordinate the team's feature-tracking and roadmaps. I also create clickable full-color prototypes for new features, show these prototypes to our customers weekly, and implement their suggestions.
What are you enjoying most about your remote internship?
It's been a privilege to work with my good friends from college on this startup. I love how motivated my teammates are and enjoy hearing about each of our product updates on Friday. Working for BusWays has also been a huge source of learning for me, both on the product side (product design, feature tracking, and roadmaps) as well as management side (communication, team coordination, and meeting leadership).
What new skills have you learned so far?
I have learned these skills so far:
- Product Management
- Product Design
- Roadmapping
- Feature tracking
- User Interviews
- UI / UX
- Team Management
How have your company and internship manager supported you through your internship?
My team members have given me a lot of flexibility in my responsibilities this summer, which I really appreciate. I've been able to suggest new initiatives and expand beyond the tasks in my initial role description.
What advice would you give to other interns about to embark on their first remote internship?
Writing targeted cover letters is a super important skill to have and will go a long way in landing you your dream position!
By Anika Pasilis