My American Internship: Yip Hern C. of Singapore
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Our "My American Internship" series features CIEE BridgeUSA participants who submitted entries to our photo essay contest. Yip Hern C. of Singapore worked as a front-end engineer intern at Clerkie in San Francisco, California.
When I applied for a front-end engineering internship at Clerkie, I barely knew React or Tailwind. The take-home assignment looked intense, and I didn’t have the experience most candidates had.
But I was determined.
I spent an entire week learning from scratch, building the app, breaking things, and fixing them again. When I submitted it, I told the hiring manager: “Just give me a shot. I’ll learn fast.”
He gave me that shot, and it changed everything.
At Clerkie, I jumped straight into real product work. I shipped features, joined team standups, took part in sprint planning, and learned what it meant to build software that people actually use. More than just improving my front-end skills, I learned how to think like an engineer, solve problems independently, and work closely with a high-performing team.
Outside of work, this was my first time living in the United States. I got my California driver’s license, drove up and down the Pacific Coast Highway, and traveled across the country. I visited places like New York, Las Vegas, Vermont, and even Mexico, often squeezing in road trips and budget flights between sprints. One of my most memorable stops was Grand Teton National Park, where I took time to reflect after wrapping up one of my first major features.
Toward the end of my internship, the team surprised me with a farewell dinner on a San Francisco rooftop. It reminded me how far I had come, not just technically, but personally. I started out feeling underqualified and unsure. I left with confidence, close friendships, and the kind of experience that can’t be taught in a classroom. This internship wasn’t just about code. It was about growth.