Student Internship Spotlight: Joseph Crowder
Class of 2024
Major:
Internship:
International Association for Indigenous Aging
Duration:
Four months
Location:
Silver Spring, Md. (hybrid)
What were your main duties and responsibilities?
As an intern, I wore many hats. I helped prepare for conferences and outreach by gathering materials like pamphlets, boards and tablecloths for the company booth. I also helped with data analytics for a big research project. I was in charge of formatting all of the data properly to ensure that, when they ran it through the analysis program, it would be able to read and analyze all the data accurately.
How did Marymount prepare you for this internship?
I was an Honors student at Marymount, so I was exposed early in my undergraduate career to the process of studying and analyzing data for research. My prior experience reading scientific studies and articles helped me better understand all of the materials I worked with in the internship, and allowed me to learn quickly and work more efficiently for the organization. The Association also does a lot of work with Alzheimer’s, and I had already read lots of literature on Alzheimer’s through my Biochemistry major. So I was better able to understand that specific data and really contextualize it for others.
What was your biggest takeaway from this internship experience?
I really learned a lot about the type of work I want to do. I initially chose to study Biochemistry because I thought I wanted to go into medicine, but after being exposed to data science through this internship, I decided to return to Marymount and pursue a master’s in Information Technology with a data science concentration. I’m now particularly interested in merging my two interests by working with data science and analytics in the health care industry. This was a huge turning point for me and has given me a more defined career path to follow.
How did this internship help you grow as a person?
This internship was genuinely one of the best choices I made during my college career in terms of growth. It really opened my eyes to the issues facing other communities, particularly the indigenous community, which is vastly underdiscussed in society. I attended a conference on indigenous aging in Nevada where I heard stories from indigenous people living all across the U.S. I heard their struggles, their triumphs and the issues facing their communities. This internship experience made me far more interested in joining groups and organizations that support minority populations and underserved populations. It also showed me the type of good I could do as a data analyst in the health care industry. Now, I am interested in exploring how I can work with different minority communities to increase equity across all races and communities through my work in data and health analytics.
What advice do you have for other students about internships?
My first piece of advice is do everything to the best of your ability, because what you’re doing matters. Even though you might be a really small piece of a larger puzzle, you’re still a piece of that puzzle, and the work that you do is valuable and important. You are helping the organization impact others, so do your best work to ensure that you are contributing positively to the organization and the people it serves. My second piece of advice is make sure you are demonstrating growth. If you are using your internship as an opportunity to learn from the organization and people you are working with, that shows incredible flexibility and a dedication to better understanding that particular subject or field. When people see that you want to learn, they are more likely to want to teach you.
