Google Design Internship: YouTube Communities
A project in which I explored new ways for creators and viewers to interact with one another on YouTube.
A San Francisco summer to remember
During the summer of 2025, I had the incredible opportunity to join the YouTube Communities team as a User Experience Design intern. Over the course of my 12 weeks, I worked on the design and iteration of projects related to the Communities experience. The nature of my work is confidential and under an NDA, but please reach out to eok22@cornell.edu if you'd like to hear a bit more about my process.
Takeaways from a summer of endless growth 🌱
I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to work at Google this summer, and I learned so much in just those three months. My key takeaways are as follows:
Cross-functional communication is critical
During my internship, I got the chance to work quite frequently with people in different roles, as well as different teams altogether. I learned how to proactively communicate through frequent check-ins and brainstorming sessions. Everyone is a stakeholder in project success (even internship ones!).
Being confident and assertive in design choices makes all the difference
Perhaps most of all, this internship taught me how to lean into my design voice and be confident in my decisions. Throughout my 12 weeks I learned the power of storytelling, even in everyday design syncs. Through constant practice, I was able to develop my confidence in presenting my work and standing by my decisions.
If you have the password, click here!
If you're a Googler, visit go/ellas-summer for more information.
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