National Intern Day Spotlight: Anna Truong and Hamin You
In honor of National Intern Day, Cat McGee sat down with our two summer interns, Anna and Hamin, who are joining us at The Learning Partnership as their Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy (SESP) practicum internship. Back in October, both Hamin and Anna attended a SESP alumni event. It was there that they met TLP president, Steven McGee, who is a SESP undergraduate and doctoral alumnus. Upon hearing more about the organization both Anna and Hamin expressed interest especially because they both share a desire for social justice in computer science. They both joined us this summer to analyze student data from our Exploring Connections project to explore how students are making personal connection to their computer science classes. Here is what they have to say about their experience so far.
Can you tell me a bit of your background and what you study?
Anna: My family is originally from Vietnam but I was born in Chicago and have lived here my whole life. I’m a first-generation college student studying education and social policy with a concentration in human development in context with a minor in data science at Northwestern University.
Hamin: My parents are both immigrants from South Korea but I was born in Jacksonville, Florida. My dad’s a pastor and was able to come here to get a Masters and my parents decided to stay here. They recently were able to get citizenship. I am a first-generation college student at Northwestern studying psychology and learning sciences through SESP.
What brought you to The Learning Partnership?
Anna: I chose The Learning Partnership because as a Chicago public schools alum, from K through 12, it’s very personal to me. I was a student in this school district and my brother is still a student in this school district. So, I think it’s very important that the future generation has access to equitable STEM education. And the work that I’m doing here is directly impacting my personal community.
Hamin: When I met Steven at the SESP alumni event and I heard about The Learning Partnership, it sounded really cool. When Anna told me that Steven was able to hire us for our practicum I thought, “Why, not?” So I reached out to Steven and now I’m here.
What has your experience been like at The Learning Partnership?
Anna: So, I really wanted to do education research because I’m really interested in education, especially adolescents. I feel like The Learning Partnership really helps me understand if I like doing education research generally but also specifically with data in this age group. I think, overall I’ve learned a lot from this experience and I also learned more about what it’s like to work every day; which is kind of the point of the practicum, and I’ve been enjoying it. Commuting to the office, learning my preferences, and how I work best.
Hamin: Everyone in the office is pretty friendly. I like that it’s small. After interviewing Steven, I feel like I have a general idea of what everyone is doing. I think that’s cool because you get to see all the moving pieces. The work I’m doing right now makes me think a bit, so I’m pretty into it and I feel like I’m learning something new every day about research, how to analyze data and problem-solving random little things.
How are you feeling about presenting at the symposium in August?
Anna: I am very excited to present. I actually love presenting; public speaking is one of my favorite things. I’ve been told in the past that I’m a good presenter and so it’s always motivated me to want to present more. I’m also very extroverted so that helps. I feel presenting allows me to talk to a lot of different people and see different perspectives based on my own findings. It’s an opportunity to share with other people. I feel like in the past the only other presentation I’ve done is in an undergraduate research expo that I did in May. I feel like when you do research you’re mostly using your perspective, but I love presenting and sharing because then other people from different areas and backgrounds also share their perspective so you get to learn a lot.
Hamin: It’s my first official research presentation, so it is foreign to me. At the same time, I don’t really think that presenting in front of a bunch of people is something to be super nervous about, because everyone here is helping me get to a point where I’m able to give a coherent presentation. I’m not too worried and it will be exciting. It’s my first my research conference and presentation, so it will be fun.
How do you feel this experience will help you in your future career?
Anna: I’m not completely sure what I want to do in the future, but I think something related to educational equity and adolescents. I am definitely interested in helping students of color, especially in Chicago as well because I love Chicago; I’ve been here my whole life. So those are all different aspects of this job that I think will be really helpful. Right now, I’m trying to think of like the psychology route, or at least research. Probably grad school which would help me get more research experience. I feel like it’s helping me learn what kind of working environments I like. It’s helping me figure out what kind of careers will fit the kind of work environment I like.
Hamin: I don’t know if I want to go into research, so this summer is when I’m going to find out, but if I go into research obviously a lot of the skills I learn here will transfer, because I’m doing a research project. But even if I don’t go into research, I think it will help a lot just because all of the analytical skills that you’re getting from just being on this job, and working in an office environment—this if my first time. It’s been different, but learning a bit about office culture, thinking critically, being able to look at data and see a story and all the connections that can be made within it. I think there’s a lot of transferrable skills to learn when it comes to research.
What have you learned about yourself in this experience?
Anna: I have learned that I do like research. I feel like there’s a lot of flexibility in terms of the work you get to do. I feel like also coming to the office is just something I like. I worked remotely before and I realized I did not like that, at least at this point in my life. I do like that we can request to be remote when needed though. This is the first time I get to be fully in an office and I like it. Even commuting isn’t too bad for me because I like thinking while I commute. I learned that going to the office is nice. I also like seeing people; which is good. I’ve learned that working in the city is something that is very fun for me.
Hamin: An hour commute is pretty rough, I’m coming from Evanston right now. I don’t think I would want to do it again. I would probably choose to live in Chicago. I think research is fun but I don’t know if I want to devote more time to go to grad school for it. I am definitely open to exploring what all is out there career-wise for me. I know I will be able to use the skills from this job to help guide me.
Would you say to any student interested in The Learning Partnership for their internship in the future?
Anna: I would tell them that I think it’s a good way to develop your research skills in a setting that’s not an academic setting. I feel like the research I’m used to at Northwestern is with a professor at the university, under their guidance. Because this is a separate entity, you really get to experience what it’s like to do research in a different setting.
Hamin: I would tell them that if they do come intern here, they’re going to have a really open-ended project where Steven is giving guidance, but he’s not breathing down your shoulder telling you what to do every step of the way. Me and Anna have had all the creative control over how we approach the project. Steven will say “Oh, have you also considered trying this out?” or “Have you guys seen this before? ” He’ll explain things to us but won’t tell us exactly how to incorporate it. He trusts us knowing that we’ll be able to, and I feel like that’s the nice part about The Learning Partnership is that there is a sense of trust in people’s capabilities here. I think it’s a good place to intern.