Northwestern can add Sweet 16 birthday parties to the list of events at Norris University Center.

More than 100 students attended a birthday bash on Monday for Google, which turned 16 in September. The event, hosted by Google at Northwestern, showcased opportunities for involvement and promoted students’ interest in the company.

“Google really likes to engage students in the best way that they can, so this is just a fun way to show different student opportunities, to see what internships are available,” said Google Student Ambassador Sowa Imoisili. 

The Weinberg junior participated in a Google immersion program, which she said allowed her to get an inside look at the company.

“When I was there I kind of fell in love with the company,” she said. “There’s just a really great culture there … It’s my job to make this company even more fun than it already is. I love the fact that I get to be the point person between Google and Northwestern.”

In putting together the event, Imoisili said she and her team brainstormed what students might be interested in by looking at what Google groups at other schools were doing. The team decided to focus on networking, while also offering trivia and snacks, she said.

At the event, representatives who were interns or took part in other Google programs in the past told students about their experiences at Google.

McCormick freshman John Franklin, a past participant in a Google summer program that teaches high school seniors about programming, attended the event.

“I worked with a lot of Northwestern kids or Northwestern alumni when I was there, so I’d really like to encourage more Northwestern kids to be involved in Google,” Franklin said.

At the event, Franklin answered computer engineering questions and encouraged freshmen and sophomores to apply for Google’s Engineering Practicum Internship.

“It’s more casual and fun than other networking fairs, and it’s Google,” said Weinberg senior Arkar Hein, who attended the event for networking opportunities. “It seems like a really cool and competitive place to work.”

Other students went to the event to find out more about what it is like to work at Google.

Franklin said getting an internship is competitive but not impossible, something he said he knows from experience.

“They’re really looking for passion and something that they call ‘Googliness,’” Franklin said. “I describe it as a higher mission, where you can have a purpose that’s more than just yourself.”

Google at NU will also be holding recruiting and info sessions on campus in the next few weeks.

Editor’s Note: This post has been updated to acknowledge Assistant Photo Editor Caroline Olsen took the photo for this story.

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