Reflecting on my Summer with the Governor's Summer Internship Program

On August 11th I concluded my summer internship at the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC). During my internship, I reinvigorated my passion for public service by learning what it means to work for the benefit of others. At the MHEC I utilized data and statistics to understand the educational outcomes of post-secondary education students. I learned to use PowerBI in conjunction with Excel to create visualizations that could display complex information conveyed by data in a more easily digestible manner. I had the privilege of contributing to various reports during my tenure at the MHEC including the Managing for Results report (MFR), and the Joint Chairman’s report (JCR). I also was given the opportunity to write a research paper and create a dashboard on a topic of my own choosing. I used this opportunity to investigate potential racial disparities in the post-secondary transfer process. And am pleased to announce that my dashboard and report will be published in the coming months after a peer editing process has been completed.?

Interning at the MHEC has influenced my career goals by allowing me to explore a data-driven approach to public service, an approach that I had given little thought to prior. Through this internship, my passion for public service has increased as I realized the lasting impacts the MHEC and other dedicated public servants can have on the lives of others. I feel better prepared for future endeavors because of the hands-on experience I gained in this internship. For future students considering joining the GSIP program, I would recommend taking advantage of all of the access to networking opportunities made available by the program. And for my future self, the only advice I have is to keep an open mind and focus on long-term growth. What I will remember most about this experience are the opportunities I had to create two unique bodies of work one for the MHEC and the other for the Governor and Lieutenant Governor. I have no doubt that these experiences have given me the tools I need to dedicate myself to a life of public service.