What I Learned During My Internship @ Cured
By: Hannah Cussen
Tags: College, Company Culture, Internships, Software Internship, Company Values

Finding the right job is a bit like dating. Each new interaction allows you to learn about the other party, yourself, how you work together, and about being in a relationship. Sometimes, you date someone and you learn a lot about what you don’t want in a relationship. But, occasionally, you are fortunate enough to date somebody that helps you learn exactly what you want.

I came to Cured because I was looking for an internship that would help me explore whether the path my CS degree laid forth was a good career fit for life after graduation. I knew I wanted something technical, hopefully in a role where I could wear a lot of hats, so I could explore and discover what I liked. Something in the healthcare space and in my home state of Colorado would be a bonus. It seemed almost too serendipitous when I discovered Cured’s posting on my school’s job board. The early stage health tech company seemed to check all my needs and wants — and they were hiring!

I was surprised on my first day when my manager, our CTO, Ashmer Aslam, asked me questions about me as a person, rather than launching into my daily responsibilities and my value to the company. He asked me what I cared about, what I wanted to do when I grew up, how the company could help me — help me — get there. These questions were repeated as I met other members of the team — I felt recognized, valued, seen. My first week was a whirlwind of meetings and a Udemy course, learning a new framework — React — in a new language — JavaScript. Here, I was surprised again: Cured was investing in me, training me, and didn’t expect me to produce anything until I understood the technology and its purpose.

Well, perhaps “understood” is being generous — working in a “real world” environment taught me of the limitations of the knowledge I’ve gathered in classes at school. But that’s because I was surrounded by a brilliant team, and I was always learning from them. I was once told to “surround yourself with people who are better than you.” This advice couldn’t be more true in professional development. Perhaps the most valuable part of my internship was in the people I have met. When first meeting my fellow team members, I asked them about their careers, and I heard stories about what happens after undergrad. Amongst my peers, there was the PhD in remote sensing who decided she wanted to code. There was a business undergrad who switched to machine learning engineering. Our CTO majored in neuroscience and economics, followed by a year in med school, spent time as a management consultant, and then decided to pivot and create something at the intersection of healthcare and enterprise cloud technology. All of these individuals are deadly good at their jobs here, building technology. Half the team worked in a field that didn’t match their undergrad degree. And, they were insightful, brilliant people doing meaningful work and enjoying it.

A sketch of a potential Cured Mascot I drew. It was quickly christened the “Avocuredo” in the team’s Slack page.

They were also kind. Within my first month, Cured held its first monthly women’s meeting. I brought up that, in my hiring process, I didn’t get the chance to speak with a female team member. They made note of that and changed it for future interviewees — I was making a difference in the culture! In my second month, a July fraught with racial reckoning, one team member brought up the responsibility to recognize our own biases, and we all took the Harvard Unconscious Bias tests later that week. I never expected to be a part of a workplace where frank discussions about race and gender were not just present, but were a norm. Cured’s culture of introspection and growth made me realize that these cultures do exist, and my experience has helped me realize that I should expect to be a part of a company with this kind of culture.

Cured taught me what it feels like to be respected and trusted. They invested in me from the start, allowed me to pursue my interest within the company’s scope, and did so without micromanaging or working me to the bone. Everyone here cares deeply about the work they are doing, but more importantly, they care deeply about being human and respecting one another and themselves. I’m very grateful for everything that people here have built and taught me.

So, in summary, what did I learn from my internship with Cured that I will carry with me wherever I go next?