University of Virginia
Class of 2027
Information Technology (IT) Systems Automation Internship
Project Overview
My summer project focused on using Microsoft 365 tools to improve and automate internal IT processes at the Foundation. I worked with SharePoint, Power Automate, Microsoft Forms, Excel, Word Templates, and Office Scripts to build workflows around audit tracking, incident reporting, and intern timesheets. The goal was to reduce repetitive work, improve consistency, and create processes that could be maintained after my internship.
Results
The main production outcome was a centralized IT Audit Log that automatically records changes from existing employee access and device management lists. I also built and tested an automated IT incident reporting workflow and an intern timesheet automation process. Through testing and deployment, I learned how much production environments can differ from sandbox environments and how important permissions, field mappings, testing, and documentation are.
Why were you initially interested in working with the Focused Ultrasound Foundation?
I was initially interested in the Foundation because it gave me an opportunity to work with technology and IT in an organization connected to medical research and innovation. I wanted hands-on experience with real IT systems while also learning how technical work can support a mission with a broader impact.
What surprised you the most about your internship experience?
I was surprised by how different building and testing something can be from deploying it into a live environment. Permissions, connections, and field setups that worked during testing sometimes behaved differently once the automation was moved into production. Troubleshooting those differences was challenging, but it taught me how to approach problems more systematically and gave me valuable experience working with real-world automation.
Has your internship affected your career plans? If so, how?
Yes, this internship has made me more interested in pursuing opportunities where I can use technology to support work with a meaningful purpose. I especially enjoyed working in an organization connected to medical research and innovation, and it made me more interested in exploring similar research or healthcare-focused environments in the future.