This past summer Anthony Zamora ’21, a Computer Science and Information Security major, immersed himself in the world of technology and finance while interning at Brown Brothers Harriman, a 200-year-old financial institution that provides private banking, investment management, and investor services. As a Systems Engineer Intern, Zamora gained hands-on experience, building a virtual machine server, and training with some of the industry’s leading experts. “Financial companies are investing in their IT and technology departments to help them meet the demands of their customers and a changing world. Interning at Brown Brothers Harriman was exciting because it merged two markets I’m really passionate about, finance and computer science, and gave me a chance to develop my skills, learn new programs, and even create innovative solutions.”

For Zamora, a computer science tutor at John Jay as well as a former President of the College’s Computer Science Society, the internship proved an invaluable experience. And, he’s hoping to inspire his peers to pursue internship experiences of their own. “Internships don’t only give you hands-on experience in the field, they also help you grow as a person, boost your self-confidence, expand your skill set, and give you an idea of what you want out of your career,” says Zamora. “My internship at Brown Brothers Harriman affirmed for me that I’m on the right career path, working in computer science and combining it with finance is what I want to do for my life.”

We sat down with Zamora to learn more about his experience as a Brown Brothers Harriman intern and how he expects it will shape his postgraduate future.

How did you become interested in the world of technology?
My interest in technology really came from my father. I’ve always looked up to him. Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, my father came to New York City when he was in his 20s. Even though he graduated high school in Dominican Republic, the degree wasn’t accepted here, so he got his GED and then put himself through college, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science from City College of New York. Growing up I would watch him tinkering with computers, working with codes and it just seemed like a whole different world to me. From there my curiosity and intrigue took over and I was hooked, I knew I was going into computer science.

What was it about John Jay that made you want to come here?
I realized that with everything in life becoming more digitized, security would become a major factor and take on a larger role across all spaces, especially in terms of the financial market. Knowing John Jay’s reputation for being on the cutting edge of security and public safety, I looked into the Computer Science program and knew this is where I needed to be. During my time at the College, I’ve been able to learn so much about cybersecurity, how to protect data, and how to use advanced data structures.

How did you hear about the internship at Brown Brothers Harriman and what was it about the opportunity that stood out to you?
I wanted to really merge my two passions of finance and computer science, so in the fall of 2019 I began looking on job search websites for IT internship opportunities at the top financial firms. I came across the Brown Brothers Harriman internship and it offered the best of both worlds. I couldn’t wait to dive into my internship because I knew it would teach me things I didn’t know before, like how to create and operate virtual machine servers.

Were you involved in any projects while interning at Brown Brothers Harriman?
The entire internship was dedicated to one project, where me and two other interns worked together to launch a virtual machine server. We had to figure out what was the best approach, what service to use with the server, and how to optimize its performance. With a virtual machine server, you create a virtual environment where you can run various programs in different combinations at once. So, instead of having one physical machine doing the work, which would be much slower, you create an environment where hundreds of virtual machines are performing various tasks, simultaneously at a much faster rate. Because virtual machine servers were new to all us interns, we worked day and night trying to figure out how they work and getting more comfortable with the technology. Eventually, we developed a script that automatically interacted with Ansible (it automates applications) and Openshift (helps launch to multiple hosts) functions to properly deploy a Kubernetes cluster (controls the virtual machines). At the end of the internship, we had to present our results to our boss’s boss.

What did this internship experience teach you about yourself?
The internship at Brown Brothers Harriman taught me that when there’s a will, there’s a way. In order to have a great internship experience you have to be proactive in your own success. You have to put in the work, be fully engaged in the work process and in what you’re learning, and you should push your imagination’s limits. I really wanted to make the most of my experience, so during my personal free time I would dedicate myself to reading up on virtual machines and even developed a mini program that could perform a repetitive task for me, like copy and paste. So, let’s say I wanted to copy a specific code into 100 virtual machines, if I did it manually, it would take me 15 minutes or more, but with my program the process took less than one minute. I believe that showing a great level of interest and commitment to creating something new, was what led to me receiving a postgraduate offer from the firm, where I’ll be a Technology Analyst in their System Graduate Program this coming summer.

Prior to your internship with Brown Brothers Harriman, you also interned for New York City’s Department of Buildings (DOB). How did the opportunity at the DOB differ and in what ways did it prepare you for your Brown Brothers Harriman experience?
At the Department of Buildings my role was to organize their human resources data for internal auditing. They wanted to know in what capacity their 3,000 employees were working with the agency, who passed their certification exams, and who is out in the field. It was my first legitimate internship experience and taught me how to interact with your boss and co-workers, how to be a team player, how to be accountable for your work product, and the importance of handling your responsibilities. If I was late on an assignment, I had to explain why I was behind on the task and ask for possible extension time—it wasn’t automatically given. That was a great learning experience, because in the real world a bad job performance could be the difference between having a job or being unemployed tomorrow.

What tips or advice do you have for students who are applying for internships?
John Jay students should apply for internships as early as they can during their John Jay journey, like their sophomore year. The earlier you start your career exploration journey, the faster you can recognize if you’re on the right or wrong path and change course accordingly. Apply during the fall semester because that’s when companies are looking for summer interns. Speak with your peers, with your professors, and department chairs, they will give you advice and may even know of available internships in the industry. Go to John Jay’s Career Center and have them review your resume and cover letter, ask them to do a mock interview with you so you feel ready for the process. When applying for an internship, apply to as many companies as you can—small and big companies—you want to cast your net as wide as possible because you want to increase your chances of getting a callback. Use LinkedIn, Indeed, John Jay’s career database, and alumni network to see what’s available. Use all the resources that are at your disposal at John Jay and through your network, there are internship opportunities out there, but you have to look for them, apply, and put in the work.