Following a tragic skiing accident, President Andy Feinstein and his wife Kerry established a scholarship in memory of their son, Nicholas Feinstein. Honoring Nick’s great enjoyment of both technology and exploration, the Nicholas Feinstein Technology Internship Scholarship supports top Monfort College of Business students who are focusing on technology, Computer and Information Services (CIS or Software Engineering). It's for students, like Nick, who are motivated to advance their technological skills by exploring new places and opportunities. John Schmidt, ’84, cofounder and co-CEO of WeFi Technology Group, hosted Nick as an intern in the summer of 2021 and was eager to partner with Andy and Kerry to honor Nick’s legacy through an annual internship for a UNC student with similar goals and passions.
The first recipient of the scholarship and internship was Platteville local, Daniel Garza. Growing up, Garza was always curious about how things worked and regularly took his computer apart to see how the inner workings fit together. By the time he got to high school, his fascination with technology only magnified. Clearly, he was bound to do big things, especially with his knack for high-level math like calculus.
As a first-generation student, navigating college applications and decisions about where he would enroll was new to both Garza and his family. No matter where he went, he knew he wanted to make the most of his time. Garza wanted to be close to his family while receiving a quality education that would give him the skills to be competitive in his field.
Garza’s childhood interests have carried over into his adult life, on track to graduate in 2026 with degrees in Computer Software Engineering and Mathematics. Once he settled in on campus, Garza saw that his majors were well-tailored to his skill set and aspirations in life. Wanting to pursue software engineering as a career, Garza began applying for summer internships during his sophomore year.
One of the opportunities that Garza applied for was an internship with the WeFi Technology Group. The tech company specializes in providing the information technology industry with finance solutions that allow businesses to expand and grow in new regions globally while ensuring compliance with each location’s specific rules and regulations. WeFi interns are placed at one of the tech group’s locations across the world based on their skills and interests. Receiving the Nicholas Feinstein Technology scholarship, Garza’s costs for the internship were covered.
“I wasn’t overthinking it [as I applied]. I wasn’t worrying about ‘Oh my gosh, I’m going to be across the world from my family!’ I was just hoping for the best, hoping I get this opportunity,” said Garza.
Even when Garza received a written offer to pursue the internship with the WeFi Technology Group it was hard to believe the opportunity would become a reality.
“It still didn’t feel real even when I got it. I saw the written offer and I signed, but it didn’t feel real until the night before, as I was packing,” said Garza.
Garza was placed with the WeFi team at their Innovation Centre in Stellenbosch, South Africa for two months during the summer of 2024. When Garza departed from Denver International Airport, it was the first time he flew on a plane — first embarking on a four-hour connecting flight before boarding a formidable 15-hour international flight. Until this summer, the furthest from home Garza had been was Washington state as a young teen.
While in Stellenbosch at his WeFi internship, Garza worked on solving complex software engineering problems, including a lot of research and prototyping. Garza’s goal was to assist in building software solutions to help WeFi customers.
Being mentored by and working alongside a team of seasoned professionals was unlike anything Garza had ever experienced before, and it taught him many lessons about entering the workforce.
“It quickly became apparent to me that writing software is a creative process and that there are many ways to achieve the same goal. I was given the opportunity and latitude to explore alternatives, which was daunting at times, but the team ultimately guided me to implement the best solution for WeFi,” said Garza.
Over the summer, Garza honed his skills and experienced life in a new country, learning about the people and culture. Importantly, the funding opportunity paired with the internship experience boosted Garza’s confidence and gave him direction for his career.
“I really want to be a software engineer now. I don’t know exactly what field of software engineering — web development, operating systems or firmware, things like that — but I do really enjoy the software engineering work,” said Garza.
The life changing opportunity for Garza was made possible thanks to the generosity of Andy and Kerry and the investment of time and resources from John and the WeFi team. Through his internship, his goal of excelling in his classes and his desire to become more involved in the math club this year, Garza returned to Greeley inspired and eager to accomplish more than he ever thought possible.
— Editor's note: This story was updated on Dec., 9, 2024, at 10 a.m., to correct an error. We incorrectly reported that Nick Feinstein was an intern at WeFi Technology Group in the summer of 2023 instead of the summer 2021. We regret the error.
