Each summer, LeanTaaS welcomes a group of interns to work in diverse areas like software engineering, data analysis, and product implementation while contributing to our mission of transforming healthcare operations. We spoke with Kyro Rizk, one of this year’s Data Analyst interns, to learn more about his experiences and insights.
Interested in joining the LeanTaaS team? See opportunities here.
What were your overall impressions of the internship program? Did anything surprise you about the internship or the company?
I’d say nothing short of an amazing experience with the internship and the company. It was super well organized, which I really appreciated. It was very meaningful. We were given projects that were making a difference in some way, and they taught me a lot. It was also really exciting to have that experience within a healthcare company.
Which specific Data Analyst (DA) project did you find the most valuable?
The first project with the Infusion Centers team was the most valuable/rewarding. As interns, we worked on making the back-end code more precise so the scheduling system could run smoothly. Since staff and patient scheduling were frequently slowed down by system delays, the objective was to expedite the infusion appointment scheduling process.
The impact was noticeable despite the work’s high technical complexity: staff could spend less time troubleshooting system problems, and patients could receive treatment appointments more promptly and precisely. It was encouraging and satisfying to observe how a back-end code modification directly resulted in patients receiving their treatments more quickly.
What sort of new knowledge did you gain?
We were given so many opportunities to learn, both technical and non-technical skills. I improved my technical skills working with a lot of different software systems and tools that I didn’t really have experience with other than in school. Doing it hands-on with an actual goal instead of just school projects made me feel like I made a difference, and I loved the opportunities we were given to collaborate with different teams. And that was probably the biggest thing I’ve learned – communication skills, just the fact that you can collaborate with so many different people and everyone is on the same page.
Do you think you had sufficient networking opportunities?
Definitely. I feel like I opened a couple of doors just seeing people in the office and asking them who they are, what they do, and a little bit about themselves. We were given so many opportunities to meet with essentially everybody, from Mohan [Giridharadas], the CEO, to C-suite folks, to interns, past interns that are now full-time, just asking them about their experiences. Everybody was very willing to talk with you, and they were interested as well. I knew the internship was going to end in August, but I was told, “If you need help after the internship, feel free to reach out,” and that came from my intern coordinators, advisors, and Mohan. If I needed anything, I felt comfortable enough to go to anyone and ask them a question.
Has your desired career path shifted since you started as an intern?
Absolutely. I always thought I wanted to be a data analyst. I learned a lot and I’m super grateful to be a part of that internship, but I learned that I want to be something a little bit more customer-facing while having that technical understanding. For my next role, I want to focus on keeping my analytical skills as well as my social skills and find something where I can interact with customers more. That’s something that shifted, and it’s cool because it taught me something I wouldn’t have known without having this internship.
With that in mind, is there a particular position in LeanTaaS that interests you?
It was about the third week of the internship where I knew I was confident that my personality would match better in the Product Implementation & Customer Success (PICS) team. After shadowing a couple of people and talking with them, it gave me insight to the fact that you need technical skills to analyze data, show metrics, and build templates as well as be able to tell a story to the customer and hear them out on their problems or where they feel like the product could be even better. So PICS is something I’m very interested in, and I’m excited to learn more about it.
What was your favorite memory that you’ve made with LeanTaaS?
It was a team outing we had a couple of weeks ago with leadership members. It was super fun. We were laughing the entire time, and it was cool to see people outside of the work environment. Even when we were working, it was still very friendly and collaborative. It was great to connect with them and build relationships with them, and I really appreciated that they took time out of their busy days to meet with us.
How was your Ping-Pong match with Mohan?
I was very lucky to have a chance to play Mohan. It started out as just a little cheeky ribbing here and there. When I was talking with him about playing Ping-Pong, he pulled out his phone and scheduled a meeting with me, blocked off time in his schedule, and invited me to the calendar invite. I feel like that shows a lot about Mohan as well as the company. It was cool – everybody came out, it was recorded, and people were on Zoom watching. It was really cool to feel that even though I’m an intern and he’s a CEO, we’re on the same playing field. He did win, but I’ll get him next time.
What advice would you give to future interns at LeanTaaS?
Be yourself and step outside your comfort zone. I think early on, I was on the shy side in regards to asking for help or setting up coffee chats, but when I realized that people at LeanTaaS want to help you and talk with you, it definitely changed my perspective. Since having that “aha” moment, I set up a coffee chat every week to meet with somebody different, and that’s outside of the meetings that our internship coordinator set up for us. The common saying at the end of every meeting was, “If you have any more questions, feel free to reach out to me.” I would also advise that if you’re interested in a specific team or department, take the opportunity to reach out. Everybody is more than willing to give you their time and lend a helping hand.
