We recently had the opportunity to interview our Engineering intern, Ernestina Plate, to learn more about her interests, experience working at Sorcero, and future aspirations. Here is what she had to say.
Elizabeth Venafro (EV): I was hoping you could tell us a little bit about your background prior to working at Sorcero.
Ernestina Plate (EP): I'm a third-year computer science student. Before that, I used to participate in Math Olympiads. This is really one of my first work experiences, because until now I used to study full time.
EV: From an academic and/or professional perspective, what is it that you're most passionate about?
EP: Being a student, I think I'm still in the process of finding out what I really want to do. Generally, what I know is that I really like to solve problems. I really enjoy that process early on in more of a mathematical way and now with coding. I also know that I love what I'm doing here at Sorcero and that I'm learning so much. I am discovering things about myself and about what I want to do professionally in the future.
EV: What was it about Sorcero that really attracted you?
EP: I knew about Ingestum first through the leader of the Integrations team. I've always been interested in the processing of data and AI. I also like back-end development and I think that Ingestum combines these things perfectly. I also like that Ingestum is open source and it's written in Python, so that really enabled me to start contributing right away.
EV: You mentioned Ingestum -- In your own words, how would you describe the Ingestum framework?
EP: Basically, Ingestum is a solution for processing data from multiple sources, such as audio, social media, scientific articles, etc. What ingestion does is retrieve the information from these sources. It is not trivial because information is represented so differently across the different sources. Then, it applies transformers to standardize that data. What's so cool about Ingestum is that it's very customizable and you can create your own sources, your own transformers, your own document standards, and you can also combine transformers in any way you want by building your own pipelines. It can meet your needs in any way you want, and it's built in a way that's very easy.
EV: I know you hit on it a little, but what challenges do you feel Ingestum solves?
EP: One of the biggest problems we have right now is that we have so much information available, but the information is in so many different formats and comes from so many different sources, that consuming the information becomes very complicated. What Ingestum does is help you focus on the use of the final standardized information, and it saves you the trouble of going through the standardization process. It’s very useful and can be used everywhere nowadays.
EV: What has your experience been like working with the Ingestum team here at Sorcero?
EP: I came in not knowing what to expect, but I found a very supportive, collaborative team. I'm working with people who have way more experience than I do and I'm learning every day. They're teaching me so much and in such a patient but challenging way.
EV: While you're a student now, where do you see yourself in five years?
EP: I don't know what I will be doing or what I want to do. I hope to keep solving interesting problems and I know that this experience will help me have a clear vision of what I want to do.
Click here to learn more about Ingestum
