Summer Internship Experience: Sydney Lobato

Many of our student workers were able to spend this summer participating in various internships outside of the Hunt Institute. Students often return from these experiences with a fantastic arsenal of newly acquired skills, ideas, and perspectives. This summer, the Undergraduate Project Manager Team Lead in the Institute, Sydney Lobato, had an internship at AT&T as a Data Analyst in the Wireless Customer Experience Team. Sydney shared the following about her experience:

I had never done data analytics before, so it was an exciting challenge to take up. My team focused on the satisfaction score, which is the measure of how satisfied customers are with the price of items. I was tasked to understand why this score had been increasing and if there are any additional ways to continue its upward trajectory. I learned how to filter through thousands of data results from surveys to see which drivers within AT&T were causing this score to increase. I also took those drivers and did a deeper investigation to find areas of improvement for the company that would also result in a better score. Throughout the summer I gave presentations to my team, communicating the results I had found along with additional insights from my analysis.

Although this experience was virtual, I still felt very involved, and I really liked the numerous events focused on immersing interns in the company experience. These included a group activity with fellow interns, social get-togethers, and hearing about the many different sides of AT&T. One takeaway from my internship was the experience of networking with the people I met. Everyone was willing to help if I had any questions, and I gained knowledge on different job roles along with a ton of advice through networking. This summer was also a fantastic learning experience; I acquired a new understanding of data analytics and how you can use numbers and statistics to tell a story about what is happening within a company. I went out of my comfort zone with this position, but I am so grateful I did because I know I can use this skill in many future endeavors. I really enjoyed my internship, and I am so appreciative for all the people I got to work with and meet. I expanded my time management, collaboration, creative thinking, and communication skills and I look forward to using these abilities in the Hunt Institute.

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