Winyama’s first Cloud Intern
About the Winyama internship program
In 2021, Winyama implemented an internship program to further the opportunities available to young Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander people in Perth and surrounds. As a First Nations owned and operated organisation, Winyama seeks to enter into arrangements that are mutually beneficial. With a desire to provide accessible education and equal opportunity within the tech sector, we implemented an internship program that could achieve both.
Since its inception, the program has on boarded three interns and is training them in a number of different streams. The diversity and flexibility of the program allows for interns to upskill and become proficient in interest-specific disciplines.
Hear from Grady Toomath, about his journey as a Cloud Intern at Winyama.
Grady joined Winyama in early 2021 as a Cloud Intern. When we asked Grady what attracted him to the Winyama internship, he noted the opportunities to learn and work on implementing technology that he had lamented in his previous role.
Upon his beginning with us, Grady had more experience than most interns. Most recently, Grady worked as a contractor for leading engineer firms in Perth, fulfilling contracting needs of large resource companies. Though, the role wasn’t as forthcoming with opportunities for learning and development as has been his experience at Winyama.
What about the Winyama internship experience is unique?
As a Cloud intern at Winyama, Grady spends his time between Amazon Web Services (AWS) training to upskill in new online environments and help out with projects where he can. He has been diving into ArcGIS and Skyline TerraExplorer, assisting the team with projects and learning on the job.
“Most days are different, which is the way I like it.”
The tech diversity that is offered to Grady is one of the most enjoyable aspects he mentions, although he says the people at Winyama are pretty great too.
Every Friday the team gathers together to have a catchup with one another at office neighbours, The Wirra Hub. Each person has the opportunity to discuss with the group how their week has progressed, what they are working on and if they need help or guidance with anything.
“The work I've done in the past with a lot of bigger companies, they might have 3000 staff and every staff member becomes just a number. At Winyama I don't feel like that. There's a lot more emphasis on how I like the job, what I think about things and how I feel. At some other companies it's just about you having a skill set they need and you go and do the work.”
Regular team check-ins and mentorship from senior team members has made Grady feel right at home in the Winyama team. He notes that there is always an opportunity to ask questions and get help when he needs it.
But what does he think the best thing is about working at Winyama?
“I'm gonna be honest, it's the people.”
“I’ve had jobs where I was always a number, or where I've been given a day's notice. Here it's different. It's a team approach, and I feel like I'm part of the team,” he said.
In the future, Grady looks forward to completing his AWS Solutions Architect certification so he can begin a specialty in Machine Learning or Artificial Intelligence. One day, he hopes to apply his learnings to personal projects like automating performance cars or perfecting drone swarms.