Lia: IT intern with a unique talent

Lia is an IT intern at HSE. She explains in her interview what sparked her interest in IT and why she spent a lot of her school life on the ski slopes.

What do you do at HSE? 

I’m an IT intern, 20 years old, and I’ve been at HSE on a 1-year internship since July 2023.

I work in the IT team and support my colleagues in their everyday work, making sure they have all the tools and equipment they need to carry out their daily business. During my internship, I was also able to get a taste of life in each department – from IT to event planning (HSE Ski Day), photo shoots of colleagues and events through to programming air sensors myself for the very first time.

What’s your background?

Before this, I was at a secondary school specializing in health and natural sciences. I actually wanted to become a physical therapist.

I was at the Art and Sports School in Uster (KuSs ZO) until 2021 and I had a lot of freedom because I was a member of the youth ski squad. Ski training was on Fridays and weekends, and ski racing on Mondays and Tuesdays. This meant I had to be really disciplined. I studied a lot by myself to catch up so that I could continue to do well at school.

What’s your motivation?

I wrote my final year project on my father's web store and that suddenly sparked my interest in IT, so I applied for a job at HSE.

Is the role all that you imagined it would be?

It's a good way into IT, especially if you don't know very much about IT. I learned very quickly. Over time, it has become more and more challenging and exciting. I even did some programming.

If you want to learn more, you can. People place great confidence in you. It’s not work just for interns, but real jobs where you are also given responsibility. I was fully accepted by my colleagues and settled in to the company very quickly.

What do you find professionally exciting?

You’re not just restricted to IT, you can learn many new things. I also got to do a lot of things I had never done before. It's just fun when everything goes well after the hard work. You always get the support you need from your colleagues to complete the tasks you are working on – even if it takes longer at the beginning.

What do most people not know about you?

I spend more days on the football pitch than at work.