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Blog • • 3 minute read

The Circle of WWT Life

Matt Sauer began his journey in tech as a STEM Student Forum participant. Now a full-time employee, he is gearing up for the 2022 STEM Student Forum as a mentor. Check out his WWT journey!
Matt Sauer

"I first learned of World Wide Technology freshman year of high school, in 2013. I was in the same karate program as WWT employee, Alison Hawke. Talking with her in class sparked my interest in tech, specifically at WWT, and I signed up for AP Computer Science as soon as I could.   

Matt and his team at the 2015-2016 STEM Student Forum. WWT on Facebook  

Senior year of high school, I was part of the first year of the Technology Solutions SPARK program at the Parkway School District and was ecstatic to compete at the first  STEM Student Forum from 2015-16, where we (team) made an app to find free Wi-Fi locations in an effort to assist those who do not have a reliable internet connection at home. 

I attended GlobalHack VI during my freshman year of college, which was sponsored in part by World Wide Technology. There were a variety of WWT employees in attendance, including Executive Vice President/Chief Technology Officer, Mike Taylor. Mike recognized me from the previous year's SSF and encouraged me to apply to the internship program. The rest is history!

Source: GlobalHack HQ | Twitter  

My two and a half years as an intern were amazing.  It's hard to choose my favorite part of the program because it was a great experience the whole time. Building the reports that ended up in a  whitepaper was definitely a highlight of my time as an intern. I also had the opportunity to get hands on experience doing QA where I learned technical skills. I grew so much professionally by learning how to receive constructive feedback and the importance of self-motivation. As an intern you get to do a lot, but only if you want to.

After graduation, I gained experience externally that set me up to apply and attain my current role at WWT as a Quality Assurance Engineer, where I work in partnership with all other team members to ensure that the team is 'building the right product' as well as 'building the product right.' 

As we approach the STEM Student Forum for 2022, I'm excited to be a mentor because I've always liked teaching, giving back and helping people gain a broad understanding of what goes into software development. I really encourage the next generation of tech to not worry about knowing everything before getting started, and just make something! The most important step is just getting started."

We are so fortunate to be part of Matt's career in tech journey and witness his growth, both personally and professionally at WWT. Matt will be an incredible mentor and resource for the next generation of tech enthusiasts. 

Full speed ahead towards STEM Student Forum 2022 — we'll see you in February!