Red Hat TY Work Experience

Monday, November 17th

Hello! My name is Aoibhe O’Connor and I am sixteen years old. I am in Transition Year at St. Augustine’s College, Dungarvan. My hobbies include drawing and painting, reading, writing, playing music and playing video games. My favourite subjects are art, science and English. I chose to apply for a week’s work experience at Red Hat after a great experience I had doing a coding programme with ‘Girls Who Code’ called the ‘Summer Immersion Programe’ in 2023. During that time, I found joy in coding but sadly never had time to pick it up again. By spending this week at Red Hat’s Transition Year Programme, I hope to revive this interest and gain a better understanding of what working in a software engineering company would be like. I hope that this experience will help me to make an informed decision about what career path I wish to take.

On Monday morning, we all met at the reception to sign in and get our pictures taken. Going into this programme, I was the only student from my school and I was a bit nervous about meeting people who already had friends with them. We were given an introduction to all of the staff and then took a tour around the office. The working environment was very interesting, with lots of facilities that I never expected to be available, such as a room with a pool table and a Nintendo Switch!

After making our way around the office, we took part in a Mario Kart Tournament on the Nintendo Switch. I found this experience very helpful; it allowed me to make new friends and have a fun time. Once the tournament was complete, some of us played an interesting card game. Playing this game made me more confident around the people I had just met and made me feel more comfortable at Red Hat

We took a lunch break for an hour and then returned to work. Anton gave us an informative presentation about agile and scrum. He taught us how to properly distribute tasks within a team, which I found to be applicable to my own life outside of Red Hat!

We split into three teams and we were all given a different task to complete with a Mr. Potato Head. Our team had to turn our Mr. Potato Head into a superhero! Our team evenly distributed the tasks and gathered the pieces to assemble our ‘Superhero Potato’. We created a storyline for him and presented our creation to the others.

Our next task was to construct a tower made only out of paper cups and tape that could withstand rocking the table or trying to blow it over. The tower we created was inspired by the pyramids and managed to stay standing. In the end, we had to reconstruct the tower to allow our ‘Superhero Potato’ to stand on top of it. We successfully managed to create a stable platform for the Potato Head to stand on by adding additional cups. This activity taught me a lot about teamwork and effective communication in a group. I really enjoyed this project and I hope to take part in more team-based activities.

In summary, I highly enjoyed my first day at Red Hat. It was a lovely introductory day where I met new friends and settled into the new environment. I am looking forward to the coming days, where I hope to learn as much as I can!

Tuesday, November 18th

Today was my second day taking part in Red Hat’s Transition Year Programme. We had a busy schedule and learned plenty of new information!

To begin the day, we had our daily stand-up with Jen. We were all encouraged to share our experiences from the previous day, mentioning what we learned and what we enjoyed about the day. It was nice to hear what aspects of the day that the staff and my peers found enjoyable and interesting.

After our daily stand-up, we were given a presentation about GitHub. We learned what GitHub is, how it works and how to use it. We were provided with sheets of basic syntax that allows us to create headings and alter text. We all made accounts on GitHub and began writing our blogs. I am really enjoying writing on GitHub, as it allows me to reflect on my days at Red Hat and identify what experiences I found most valuable.

Once we had completed some writing on GitHub, we moved onto Python. I found this part of the day to be challenging, but very rewarding! At first, Python seemed very complicated, but the staff guided us through how to use it, making it much easier to learn.

After learning the basic commands of Python, we were taught how to make a simple ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ game. As I got used to the basics of Python, coding this game became much more enjoyable. It felt very rewarding to have your game successfully work in the end!

After lunch, we played a fun activity called ‘Crack A Million Passwords’. We watched a video about how password encryption works that was informatve and very good to know. There were eight parts in total to the challenge, beginning with a simple task and then getting increasingly difficult each level. I thought that this activity was very fun and educational; it definitely encouraged me to strengthen my passwords!

For the last fifteen minutes of the day, we updated our blogs – which continued to be one of my favourite parts of the day! I love that I can put my writing skills to use during my time at Red Hat. As I continue to use GitHub, I am finding it much easier to navigate the site.

Overall, I enjoyed today just as much as yesterday! While we did a lot more work on our computers, I found this to be highly beneficial and gave me a greater understanding of computers. I also continued to have a great time with my new friends as we spent our lunch break playing pool. I am definitely starting to get used to spending the day at Red Hat and I hope that the days to come will be just as educational and fun as the past two days.

Wednesday, November 19th

Today was my third day at Red Hat’s Transition Year Programme. I arrived as usual at 09:20 to sign in at the reception and took my seat for our daily stand-up. During this time, everyone was given an opportunity to share their thoughts on the previous day, with most of us mentioning tasks such as GitHub, Python and the ‘Crack A Million Passwords’ activity.

After our daily stand-up, James gave us a really interesting presentation about the history of computing. He discussed the evolution of technology and prompted us to think about what technology might be available in the future. He also told us about many of the different jobs that are available to those who study computer science, which I found very useful and encouraged me to further consider studying computer science at university. Overall, James provided us with lots of facts and advice that I will carry with me beyond this week at Red Hat.

Later on, Grainne gave us a presentation on Bash. She made this experience very fun by making us match the command to the definition in pairs. We were taught the basic terminology of Bash and put our knowledge to practice in the terminal. I found bash to be quite similar to Python, yet so different in other ways! Similar to Python, it was challenging at the beginning, but I got a better grasp of it as we progressed. Learning to code is definitely an enjoyable part of every day here at Red Hat.

We then had the opportunity to hear from the interns about student life. They gave us plenty of valuable advice about choosing a career and assured us that the Leaving Cert does not define our future! Their words gave me a lot of clarity on choosing a university course, especially since I am drawn to creative ventures.

Finally, we had a two-hour engineering task where we had to build a rollercoaster made from only straws and tape. It had to have a loop and carry the weight of a tennis ball. Our group focused on building a sturdy coaster that would definitely hold the weight of the ball. Unfortunately, this meant that we could not make it very complicated due to the two-hour time limit. While our design was simple, it did not collapse under the weight of the ball. I learned a lot from this activity, especially the importance of teamwork and time management.

Overall, I found today to be challenging in some areas, but I also learned lots of skills and plenty of valuable lessons. I am continuing to enjoy my time at Red Hat and I hope that my final two days of work experience will be just as memorable!

Thursday, November 20th

Today was my fourth day of work experience at Red Hat. Today, we undertook even more new projects and learned lots about several different subjects. At the beginning of the day, Nigel began our daily stand-up. I continue to find it valuable to hear feedback from my peers about what areas they enjoyed, comparing it to my own experiences.

At 10:00 we all took a break and left the room to have breakfast. There was a large selection of food available for everyone to have. We sat down and ate for thirty minutes, where I got a chance to discuss the day ahead with my friends.

After our breakfast, we got back to work where we received a presentation about AI from James. He quizzed us on AI application logos and told us about how to properly use AI – as well as how not to use it! James then introduced us to Notebooklm and showed us all of the amazing things that you can do with this tool. The staff compiled all of our diary entries and used AI to transform them into a podcast and a quiz. Overall, this presentation about Notebook Lm was fun, but also very useful! The podcast feature of Notebook Lm is something that I will definitely adopt when studying for my Leaving Cert.

Later on, Shaun spoke to us about coral reefs and showed us a very interesting website called ‘Click a Coral’ that allows you to identify different species of coral. This task was very relaxing, but sometimes difficult, as correctly identifying the species of coral proved challenging!

Finally, we ended the day by working on a sustainability project. We were split into pairs and had to create a presentation on rain gardens by using AI. Cherry and I worked together to create an informative slideshow and we then presented our findings to the group. While all pairs had very similar presentations, I really liked listening to everyone else’s facts and I also appreciate the challenge of speaking in front of an audience. This sustainability project not only informed me on rain gardens – which I knew very little detail about – but it also allowed me to work on my speaking skills, teamwork and research skills.

In summary, today was my favourite day yet! Learning about all of the possibilities of AI sparked my interest and I am now highly interested in working in this field. I also appreciate the link back to sudtainability, as AI can significantly damage our planet if we don’t use it properly. Tomorrow will be my final day at Red Hat and I truly hope to make the most of it!

Friday, November 21st

Today was my fifth and final day on work experience at Red Hat. I had the most amazing day; I can’t wait to unpack my experiences!

We began the day as usual at 09:30 with our daily stand-up where we gave feedback on the previous day. We were then brought to a different room than usual where Shaun showed us a raspberry pi alongside its capabilities. He showed us how the LEDs work and gave us a look at the code behind it. I was very intrigued by this; I might have to buy one for myself some day! He then showed us a robot dog that was controlled by a smartphone. I got a chance to control the robot and make it pick up a ball. This technology really fascinated me.

We were then divided into two groups of six to work on programming our own cars. Daniel introduced us to microbits and showed us how they work. We all got a chance to display LEDs on our own microbits, which I found very fun! We then divided into pairs to begin working on our cars. By using two microbits – one being the controller and one being the receiver – we could make a robotic car move! Tristan and I had lots of fun programming our car and even made it play music when accelerating! This activity had to be my ultimate favourite of the week. I really enjoyed programming the microbits on the computer and I would love to have one of my own some day.

At lunch time we were all given Dominos pizza, which was a very nice treat to complete the week. I really appreciate how well we have been treated all week here at Red Hat!

After our lunch, we gathered together to have a race with all of our cars! The course was challenging with lots of obstacles in the way, resulting in most people accumilating several penalties for driving off course! Tristan and I finished in second place. This activity was really enjoyable with lots of laughs. Leanne was a great help, as she guided our cars around the track, attempting to save them from falling off the table!

At the end of the day, we all had the chance to give feedback on the week. We had to write our favourite parts of the week, our least favourite parts and our recommended changes for the future. For me, the best parts of the week were the AI presentation, microbits and Python. These activities were fun, but also provided me with valuable knowledge to take away from this week. I also really enjoyed the blogging, however one of my least favourite parts of this week was the inconsistency of committing to GitHub. Even when I had committed my work correctly to GitHub, it would disappear for days until it was approved. I found this a little frustrating at times, as I had to rewrite parts of this blog several times. But GitHub troubles aside, I absolutely loved blogging this experience!

Summary

This week has been incredible, and I cannot thank everyone involved enough. Every single staff member was patient, kind and helpful. All of the work that was put into this week is extremely evident and I seriously appreciate the work that Red Hat has done and continues to do for us students with an interest in technology.

Coming into this experience, I was the only student from Dungarvan, let alone my school, but everyone was incredibly welcoming and I made the most amazing friends that I will never forget.

I gained an immense amount of knowledge this week and everything that I have learned has made me seriously consider working in tech. The manner in which Python and Bash were presented to us made them very approachable and I will certainly start practicing in my free time! I never expected to love working with computers as much as I now do. It would be amazing to return to Red Hat some day to continue my computer science journey.

This week has been hands-down the best week of Transition Year yet – and I highly doubt that it will be topped!

Finally, we had a two-hour engineering task where we had to build a rollercoaster made from only straws and tape. It had to have a loop and carry the weight of a tennis ball. Our group focused on building a rollercoaster that had great structure and would not collapse, however this meant that we did not have sufficient time to make it very complicated. While we did succeed in having proper structure, I would have liked to make it more complicated and interesting if we had more time. This task taught me a lot about teamwork and time management.

Overall, I found some aspects of today challenging, but I like to be challenged! I learned a lot of valuable lessons today. My favourite part of the day was probably the engineering task, but I found all of today’s activities to be very interesting and informative. As the days progress, I find myself becoming increasingly drawn to working with computers.

Thursday, November 20th

Today was my fourth day at Red Hat on work experience, and it has probably been my favourite so far! At 09:30 to begin our day, Nigel began our daily stand-up. Over time, I have become a lot more comfortable doing the daily stand-up. As someone who is reserved, I consider that a valuable skill that I learned here at Red Hat.

After our daily stand-up, James spoke to us about AI. He quizzed us on the logos of AI applications and then told us about Notebooklm. I was very intrigued by this platform, especially by the AI generated podcasts and quizzes.

Later in the day, Shaun told us about coral reefs and showed us a