Visualizing Success: A Summer Internship in Data by James Chen, Digital Scholars 2025

Q&A with James Chen, Digital Scholars Intern 2025.

What was your summer internship like???

I worked with the University of Washington Bothell Advancement Team specifically in Alumni Engagement where I?collaborated with the team to?work on two major projects: employers for alumni and?a breakdown of a past fundraising?event.?

足彩app哪个是正规的 first project, employers for alumni, we?pulled from?two?separate?UW?databases?and one database outside of UW that tracks alumni. This allowed us?to?work?on?the first stage which was data?cleaning to find?which IDs matched?with which alumni.?足彩app哪个是正规的 second stage of the project was mapping a general idea where current alumni worked based on those?IDs,?and this was able to help us?analyze the data and?identify?the?top employers. With this data we were able to?proceed?with the third stage?which was?converting a list view to a visualization with graphs.??

足彩app哪个是正规的 second project, was a breakdown of a past fundraising?event?was?similar to?our first project that involved?us?data cleaning?to?find?what columns mattered and what?didn’t. This?led?us directly to data?analysis,?and visualization.?But this time it was easier to clean due to?good record keeping from the Advancement team.?

What did you learn about how professional workplaces operate?  

With the Advancement team?I?learned,?and?this?surprised me,?was how?it was?very similar?to school?where?you make the experience how you want?it?to be. Everyone was engaging,?along with?good communication?on all parts?from?our supervisor BrieAnna Bales emailing us the deliverables for the day?and?both BrieAnna and Jessica?Newkirk letting us know what they wanted with our data that we gathered.?Another thing I learned is what to look out for in company culture. I always heard horror?stories,?and I am?definitely thankful?and?cherish?that?my?first internship?I got had laughter and support going around the office.?

Who supported you and helped you grow in your internship?  

?I would like to give a thank you to: 

Chaise Jung, Connected Learning, for the weekly workshops?before my internship?that helped me learn?how to build my professional identity and network with others. 足彩app哪个是正规的y helped me gain?additional?skills in project management,?writing?emails, skimming, communication, and many other skills that are important in a professional workplace.?

Both Jesi?Egan, Undergraduate Research Director, & Chaise?for the weekly reflections?and workshops during my internship. This helped me with how to improve?me?skills in informational interviews?and?reflecting?on myself during my time as I have been doing that a lot and has helped me recently.?

Our supervisors BrieAnna and Jessica for creating an amazing workspace?experience?as well?as helping us?with networking?and?setting up meetings with other people inside?the?data field?at the University of Washington.??

What was the most challenging part of your internship?  

足彩app哪个是正规的 most challenging part?during my internship was?the data cleaning?part, while I?didn’t?do a lot compared to my partner Jayden Guan because my programming experience was limited.?However, while?he?wasn’t?there, I was able to practice learning Python to match IDs with alumni.?

What was the best or most rewarding part of your internship?  

足彩app哪个是正规的 most rewarding part of my internship?was the final week when Jayden and I?were able to give a presentation of our?journey?during our 5 weeks?Internship.?From?learning how to use the different databases to?our process of?data cleaning and then to finally presenting?our?end?product?with?a?Data Visualization.??

How does this internship connect to your longer-term goals?  

This internship connects to my?long-term?goals from learning?skills expected in a professional workplace such as professionalism, communication, time management, and leadership.?While I am still struggling with this sometimes,?it?also pushed me to?break out of my shell and?push myself out there more.?

What advice would you give to future Digital Scholars??

One?advice?I?have?to?future Digital Scholars is?don’t?be afraid.?Even if it is scary,?or it may hurt,?it?doesn’t?hurt to ask.?If you have a question, ask it.?This applies to?anything?but?for?example?the supervisors were more than willing to talk to you and support you during your journey. This way?both you and your supervisor?can be on the same page with the work they?expect out of?you.?

What advice would you give to supervisors and program staff who are supporting Digital Scholars in their internships?  

足彩app哪个是正规的 spring quarter?workshops helped by teaching?me new skills or improving my current skills through?a?different?way?of?thinking?how I could do it. 足彩app哪个是正规的 summer quarter workshops helped me reflect on myself more, while not everyone liked doing that.

Also, our supervisors?set a pretty high bar. I enjoyed working?in that environment and?didn’t?feel pressure?or rushed?with the work they expected from me. I?really liked that, and?I am?thankful to them?for setting up?different informational interviews?across the University of Washington, learning what roles are out there and what others did in the data field.?

Learn more about the Digital Scholars program at UW Bothell.