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John Cunningham is an undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering. He interned with during summer 2021. 

John Cunningham

Can you tell us a little bit about the company where you interned?

ShoeSense is a startup company that began when its CEO, Connor Winter, was a mechanical engineering undergraduate at CU Boulder. The company’s idea is to create an application that is paired with a wearable sensor. The app can provide advice on what type of running shoes to wear, insight into the user's running form and exercises that will help improve their form.

What was your role as an intern with ShoeSense?

The majority of my time was spent collecting and analyzing data. I wrote and executed a lot of test plans with the sensor on our treadmill. Analyzing the data on Matlab was a huge part of my job, as I was trying to calculate key running metrics using just the sensor data. We had access to an industry standard testing system, so I could verify if my calculations were accurate by comparing them to those test results.

What was the most unique aspect of the internship?

I had a lot of freedom in my role, which is something quite unique. I was not simply told tasks to complete. Rather, I was allowed to create my own test plans and execute them. The amount of trust and responsibility given to me was unique and one of my favorite parts of the experience.

What advice do you have for future interns?

Do not be afraid of feeling like you do not know enough. I had this same feeling on the first day of my internship, but I was impressed with how much I was actually capable of. If you are not capable of doing something, ask for help or advice. That is always okay and expected, especially in an internship role. It is all about learning!