Nicole Hsing was an Apple Softgoods EPM (Engineering Program Manager) intern from New York City (917 area code). Twitter: @nicoleshsing.
Apple
Nicole and Amy both worked in Apple's Softgoods division, overlapping during 2022-2023. They discussed materials and fabrics: Hyosung 3.2T, HY-1450, P1 configurations. Both used NX CAD and SolidWorks.
Amy coached Nicole on salary negotiation. Nicole was originally offered $41.50/hr, then $44. Amy had been bumped from $41 to $52/hr and told Nicole to use her name as reference, bring up her performance review, mention executive presentations, and emphasize covering full-time responsibilities. Practical mentorship from one intern to another.
Nicole was in a sorority and had a boyfriend at school. She did DJ work and music performances. She was waitlisted at Nike before accepting an Apple return offer in November 2022.
July 2024
Amy confided in Nicole about being sexually assaulted: "My friend just had sex with me. I didn't really want to. I was high on molly." The same person was going to be at a party the next day.
Nicole supported her: "I'm here for you," "you need to prioritize yourself first." But Nicole was also going through her own struggles: "I can barely help myself rn and I feel like I've been giving too much." She eventually asked for space. She recommended RAINN (sexual assault support organization) and therapy. Amy said the RAINN recommendation was "really helpful."
This is the same assault Amy mentioned to Alex Tchang the same month.
After
The conversation essentially ended after July 2024. Nicole asked for space and they haven't reconnected in the available records. The friendship was close during the Apple era, became strained when Amy's crisis exceeded what Nicole could carry alongside her own.
Significance
~4,100 messages. January 2022 to July 2024. Nicole represents a friendship that hit its structural limit. Two people can be close and supportive until one of them needs more than the other can give. Nicole was honest about that: "I've been giving too much." The friendship ended not with drama but with a boundary.