Honestly so disheartening that in 2023 the old bullshit views are still prevalent in an industry that has traditionally framed itself as forward thinking and inclusive.
(spoiler alert: i don't think they planned on taking either of them on a trip to the pinball museum followed by craft cocktails)
it hurt, since i was older than most of the interns, coming from precarity, and felt like the ideals that got me into the space were what caused me to boomerang back to my abusive PhD
This was ten years ago -- I was a closeted queer guy given an offer letter to work with someone who quit before I arrived, signed by someone who resigned or was fired prior to my arrival.
Not once since has someone offered to have a recruiter speak with me, no attempts at anything but... transparently using interns as temps.
To sit all summer, nearly suicidal with worry you'll be forced back to the midwest, having your boss take everyone but you out to lunch over and over and your coworkers angry you told them to not harass folks who are arguably their "boss" in the nontechnical capacity for the summer... it destroyed my trust in the company and sent me down a very dark path.
Silicon Valley is only inclusive when forced to, because someone is extremely technical -- and even then, it felt like you had to "know" someone, in a sense I'll avoid spelling out, to get a fair interview.
It was a summer I had high hopes for that broke my heart in so many ways... and it happened over ten years ago