My name is Hannah Dodd and I am a fourth-year student athlete from Vancouver, BC. I am majoring in Sustainability, Science, and Society, with a minor in Cell and Molecular Biology. I play on the varsity women’s soccer team and my interests include sustainable business, business development, social media marketing, and data science. My intent for completing internships this summer was to get hands-on experience in professional fields that I may not have had the opportunity to explore in my studies. I participated in two remote internships. The first was with Post Game Professions, a startup that helps bridge the gap between former female athletes and meaningful careers. The second was with Sawatch Labs, a Greentech company using data science and telematics to increase the rate of conversion from gas-powered vehicles to electric vehicles. I chose to involve myself with these two organizations because I resonated with their goals and I wanted a challenge. Being a female athlete myself, I realize the need for services like PGP. Because I am not a business major, I learned an immense amount about developing a brand and being an entrepreneur from the relationship I formed with the founder. Sawatch Labs presented an equal challenge. My lack of background in data analysis forced me to quickly learn the many tools I needed to succeed in this role. I had quite a bit of freedom to explore and manipulate the large data sets as I wished which was daunting at first but turned out to be quite enjoyable and rewarding.
At PGP, I spearheaded the outreach to every professional sports team in the major six leagues in North America. This campaign meant a lot to me as I executed it independently from start to finish. I was given the autonomy to come up with my own tasks while working at PGP and was highly successful in this specific one. This was a highlight of the summer for me and the company as we are now in talks with teams like the Chicago Bulls, LA Angels, Florida Panthers, and Vancouver Whitecaps. In addition to this project, I spent a few weeks sourcing onboarding new clients.
At Sawatch Labs, I found myself immediately in the deep end. I took a few online classes to understand the basics of data analysis then dove into the seemingly endless sheets of numbers. After many hours, I now feel much more confident in my grasp on data manipulation. Another intern and I spent the majority of our time compiling a report and presentation on why many vehicles that were being analyzed were “failing” and not being recommended for replacement with an electric vehicle (EV). We did in depth analysis on different vehicle classes, energy profiles of different states, counties, and cities, economic analysis including fuel economy of recommended vehicles, and explored geographic differences such as topography and climate. Over the course of this internship, my grasp on the different features within Excel have increased dramatically. I am now capable and confident at handling large data sets. My internship concluded with a presentation over zoom to the entire Sawatch Labs team in which we summarized our investigation, findings, and speculated next steps. This was a very rewarding experience in which I learned an incredible amount.
I am currently working with the Geography Department to find a way of receiving credit for my internships as my major does not offer an internship course. If it were not for these internship experiences, I would have never known how capable I am at business development. I am now looking into MBA programs and would love to work in brand development in the future. My public speaking, email communications, and data analysis skills, to name a few, have benefitted exponentially. These will complement my studies as I begin the final year of my undergraduate degree and enter the job market.
At first, I was nervous to adapt to a remote position, but it gave me the opportunity to work with two companies that I never would have been able to otherwise. My top tip for staying productive is to separate your workspace from your relaxation space.
The funding that I received for these internships helped me immensely as I was able to cover the cost of my living expenses. Without receiving this funding, I would not have been able to complete these unique and rewarding internships. Thank you to the Arts Undergraduate Improvement Fund for its generous support of my internships.
Sincerely,
Hannah Dodd
