Xamarin’s First Developer Evangelism Intern

Today, I’m excited to be wrapping up an exciting first week at Xamarin as an intern with Xamarin’s Developer Evangelism team. First, let me introduce myself. My name is Pierce Boggan, and I am currently pursuing a Bachelors in Software Engineering at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. My dream job has always been to work at a fast-paced, innovative company like Xamarin.

When I first entered university, I found iOS development particularly intriguing. While I had been writing simple console apps in Java for classes for a few years, I hadn’t built anything that I would have considered interesting. With mobile development came the opportunity to build software I could carry around in my pocket, show it off, and even easily distribute it to my friends. However, I had a problem. I had almost no real-world programming experience and the task of learning something completely new like Objective-C was overwhelming. Naturally, I looked for alternatives. I stumbled upon Xamarin and the unique approach of being able to develop Android and iOS apps using C#, a language that was extremely similar to those taught in the introductory computer science courses at Auburn. It was the perfect match – instead of having to focus on learning both the APIs and language, I could focus on just the platform-specific details. And so begins my Xamarin journey.

One year later, I was blessed with the privilege of being one of Xamarin’s first interns, tasked with being a remote Support Engineer. In just the first four months, I learned more than I ever had in a classroom. Support. Sales. Documentation. Evangelism. You name the hat, I probably wore it. I was also blessed to work and learn directly from some of the leading experts in the software world such as Miguel de Icaza, who started both the GNOME and Mono projects.

Perhaps my favorite part of Xamarin is the culture. For the first time, I was happy to get up and work in the morning – something that had eluded me at all my previous jobs. I developed relationships with my coworkers that I will never forget. Even though I was over 1,000 miles away, I felt at home.

This is my third internship at Xamarin. After starting out as an intern with the support team, this year I have made the switch to the developer evangelism team. Over the next few months, I will be blogging, tweeting, speaking, and working with our amazing community to help ensure you have the right tools, training, and guidance in place to help you succeed.

In addition to summer internships, Xamarin also has fall and spring internships.  If you are a student or recent graduate who thinks that Xamarin sounds like a place you might want to work, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me on Twitter at @pierceboggan. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have about interning with Xamarin. I love it, and I know you will too.