For my STEP project, I completed an internship with the Ohio Education Research Center (OERC) and worked with Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) through the OERC’s program. During the internship, I attended professional development sessions where I met with professionals working in government, consulting, and data analytics. I also created a series of maps using software such as Tableau, R, and Python designed to assist OHFA with the allocation of housing tax credits.

Over the course of this internship, I grew both my technical and professional development skills. I was able to see how a government agency operates from an inside perspective and see in depth the services the agency provides. While I was previously aware of some housing policy initiatives, interning for OHFA allowed me a much better view into specific programs and policy choices. For instance, while creating my maps, I learned a great deal about the allocation of housing tax credits and their importance for many low-income individuals in Ohio. The experience demonstrated the importance of low-income housing and the barriers to providing it that exist. Additionally, as I worked with OHFA’s data analytics team, this internship emphasized the necessity of data analysis and its practical use. Decisions about OHFA’s programs and future were backed by data, enabling the organization to quantitatively understand how programs were performing.

Key aspects of the program that led to these realizations include the mentorship I received throughout the program. For the internship, I had two supervisors, one through OHFA and one through OERC. My supervisor at OHFA, Chelsea Buckwalter, taught me so much about her agency, data analysis in general, and housing policy. She set up meetings for me to learn about other positions and departments within the agency, as well as pointing me toward outside resources involving housing policy. While I was interning, my OHFA supervisor also invited me to many of the meetings she attended throughout the day, which gave me a feel for how involved the process of data analytics and housing policy are.

My supervisor through the OERC, Josh Hawley, also contributed to my internship experience. Along with providing guidance and mentorship, he brought in speakers for the interns to learn from throughout the summer. The speakers included professionals from Ohio agencies such as the Ohio Department of Education, a data analyst from a consulting firm, and prior students who participated in the internship program. Hearing the speaker’s personal experiences in their roles and their advice was invaluable. It gave me a sense of where I might like to take my career, and contributed to my perception of how necessary data analysis is for many different employers and agencies.

Another portion of my internship that was extremely influential was implementing my technical skills using different technologies to create housing maps. This process included teamwork, many unexpected hiccups, and learning new skills to tackle the project. It also taught me the specifics of working with public sector data, such as the concerns surrounding PII and public data regulations. Becoming familiar with different software, such as Tableau, Python, and GIS showed me the variety of tools available for data analysis, and the multitudes of possibilities for representing information. It introduced me to new ways to represent information and encouraged me to think about different ways to approach a problem.

In the future, I hope to use these relationships and skills to further learn and grow. My experience as an intern showed me that I am very interest in public sector data analytics. I love that this field allows me to use both my technical skills along with my passion for public service work. The work I did with OHFA was incredibly rewarding and reinforced the value of this type of work through the data demonstrating OHFA’s successful programs. My mentors this summer provided valuable insight into the field as well. I am excited to use this knowledge to inform my future career choices, and inform my ability to perform in future roles.