We are back with another Intern blog. Tony is the second of the web developer interns we had this summer. Like Elle, Tony was hired on after his internship. His blog highlights what he did day-to-day here as an intern but also the awesome activities he was able to participate in as an intern here. This is a GREAT blog and I know you will enjoy it. Here is Tony:

Spartz Media. Even the name sounds fun, right? If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve already heard a thing or two about the Spartz operation. Well I’m here to tell you, firsthand, that it more than lives up to any of the hype it may receive.

I joined the company in early June as an intern Web Developer, intent to spend the summer (and hopefully much longer) learning, experiencing, and showcasing technological skills and talents. As a recent graduate, I came into this job wondering if my gamble of accepting an intern position at Spartz over a full time position elsewhere would pay off. Within a week or two, I was certain I had made the right choice, even if I didn’t end up being brought on as a full-time Web Developer.

Now I was planning on discussing two of the most important aspects (to me) that make up any place of work as separate ideas: work and play. However, I’ve found the task of separating the two to be impossible. It’s true we have a lot of fun here at Spartz (poker Tuesdays, sangria Thursdays, booze cruises, mini-golf outings, random bar nights, frequent lunch discussions, coming in some mornings to find random – and usually inappropriate – jokes on my computer… the list goes on), but we even have lots of fun doing the work itself – and I’m not just saying that because I’m a nerd and love developing software (coincidentally, I am and I do).

I’m confronted every day with ever-changing tasks and challenges, yet it’s not uncommon for the entire room to break out at any moment in jokes about perverted harry potter names (be honest though, who hasn’t done that?). I’ve also received multiple Nerf darts to the face when someone thought I was stressing a little too much about some piece of code, and there was once even a harrowing war waged against one devilish, yet amazingly tough wasp.

When I first started here, we came up with a few goals such as gaining more experience with PHP, JavaScript, HTML5, the Zend framework, etc., and I have accomplished all of these and more. The work I’ve done this summer and the experience I’ve gained, just from a technological and professional viewpoint, make me realize I will always appreciate and cherish my summer with Spartz. But even more than that, the personal relationships available to any member of the Spartz family (no, I’m not just talking about Emerson, Gaby, and Dylan) truly make this company what it is.

One of the first things I was told when I came here is this: “This company isn’t like most other places. You’ll come to realize you’re not here with coworkers; you’re actually working with friends… Also, you’re the coolest person, and best programmer, I have ever met.” ….Well maybe that’s not exactly what was said, but the point is, it really is true about being friends. I had a fantastic summer, and I am ecstatic to be able to remain a part of this company and continue to do the work I love with a group of awesome friends.

Tony did an excellent job with this blog. If you are looking for an internship or a job follow @spartzmediajobs and apply! We are always looking for talented passionate fun individuals to join our team.

Have a great rest of the day!

Eliscia

I’m back with another Intern blog. This time it is from the other side of the office. Weber interned with the LXD (League of Extraordinary Developers). His experience at Spartz is much different than interning with the community team. Enjoy the read

It has been a few days since my last day as an intern at Spartz Media. Working at Spartz was definitely something that I had never experienced or ever expected to experience. It was probably one of the best summer jobs that a coder like me could ever ask for. I spent the whole summer hanging out with and learning from the League of Extraordinary Developers (which if you haven’t heard of them, you should probably get on that). The amount of talent and creativity that I had to work with can’t really be put into words. It was educational, inspirational, and an honor to work with them for ten weeks this summer.

Not only did I get to have a ton of fun working with amazing people, I also learned a lot about web development and programming. I feel much more comfortable programming in PHP and Javascript since working with the Spartz dev team. During my time at Spartz I was able to create and add several new tools to the admin hub that exists to manage all of the sites in the Spartz network. I also worked with integrating third party API’s into some of the sites to add new functionality and further enhance the user experience. This is just a few of the many things I was able to get involved in during the internship. With the fast development process at Spartz, a developer gets involved in a lot of things, and has the opportunity to experiment with fun technology more than they might at a larger company.

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The summer is ending which means the summer internships are all wrapping up. Last week I shared Sarah Koler‘s experience on the community team, this week I’ll share Elle’s. The great news about this is that Elle won’t really be leaving us. Elle finished her time as a Community Team intern but she will be staying on as an Associate Project Manager/Analyst. So even though she is not really leaving us, she wrote us a great summary of her time as an Intern. Here you go!

I headed over to the other side of the Spartz Media office last week – no longer an intern and ready to take my place among the developers. Let me clarify, no one was about to trust me with actually developing software. Thank goodness. Nevertheless my new duties require me to work closer with our ‘devs.’ And while I was sorry to leave the Community Team, I think things will work out just fine over here. With dinosaur action figures perched atop computers and a pile of nerf guns stacked up in the corner, if the dev side of the office (and the devs themselves) is anything (besides talented) it’s fun.

But let’s rewind a little. I began working at Spartz as a Community Intern in early June. This was just two weeks after I graduated from the University of Notre Dame where I majored in Marketing and Television Studies. Already missing school, it was comforting to meet so many other ND and St. Mary’s grads working at Spartz Media. Further, it was inspiring to be part of a company started by two ND grads, Emerson and Gaby Spartz, who are a mere 3 years older than me. Of course no matter their alma mater, everyone was extremely welcoming and friendly!

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This week marks the end of another one of our awesome interns’ time with us. The summer is almost over and Sarah is heading back home and then starting her senior year of college at Marquette University. As sad as we are to see her go, we are thrilled that she had an awesome time interning with us. She worked on the Community Team, which means I worked closely with her, and I can say she was an amazing intern! Sarah was kind enough to guest blog about her time here and I am excited to share her experiences with you. Here is Sarah…

You can never have too many adventures. Or at least that’s what I told my parents when I explained to them that for the summer, I wouldn’t be returning to my home state of Minnesota after studying abroad for 4 months in Rome, Italy. Instead I would be moving to Chicago, a city I didn’t know much about, for the summer to intern at Spartz Media.

It all started when I was in Rome, stuffing 4 months of my European life into a suitcase to go home. I received a call that Spartz was offering me an internship position with their Community Team after just a few skype interviews. Although I hadn’t even visited the company in person yet, I had such a strong gut feeling telling me to work for Spartz. Following that intuition was the best decision I made.

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Spring semester at schools recently came to an end and sadly a couple of our college interns headed back home for the summer. One of our Community Team interns, Jason Welch, was kind enough to write about his time here at Spartz Media. I wanted to share what he had to say with everyone. He was a pleasure to work with and we are going to miss him! I hope you enjoy his guest blog post:

Hey guys!

So, just to get you up to speed, I recently finished my spring internship at Spartz Media working as a Community Team Intern. I’m a senior at Northwestern University, California native and captain of the wrestling team at NU. I’ve had a couple weeks now to look back and reflect on my time at Spartz Media. I have to say – I couldn’t be more satisfied with my time there.

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