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Hello, my name is Samantha. I am a rising junior at Douglas High School in Douglas, Alabama. This summer, I had the privilege of working with The Founders Playground after being selected through the Alabama Data Scholars internship program. This program was made possible by QuantHub with support from Innovate Alabama and participating employers around the state.
Prior to this 8-week internship, my experience with data science and programming skills were essentially nonexistent. What I knew came from my math classes and one semester of coding club from my freshman year. I recognized this early and took advantage of QuantHub’s Upskill pathway. I knew this was my best way to stand out for an internship so I took the time and finished the entire pathway. This hard work paid off as I landed an internship, something I did not expect given my skills and experience… or rather, the lack thereof!
I worked virtually with two other interns to create a web application to help investors fill gaps in their invested startup teams. My role involved designing and building the database for their founder assessment platform. I also created a session-based tracking system to link multi-step submissions. With the help of forums and ChatGPT, I taught myself how to use more advanced SQL and data flow logic. I learned how to think like a systems designer – not just writing queries, but building tools that had to work for real users. The collaborative environment with my teammates provided me with the opportunity to contribute to multiple areas of the project, practicing leadership and teamwork skills.
What surprised me most was how much responsibility I was trusted with, even as a high school student. The experience gave me a real window into how impactful well-structured data can be.
If you’re a student with no experience and a little curiosity, you belong here. You don’t have to know everything. You just have to be willing to learn. QuantHub gave me the roadmap – and I’m proof that it works.
I’m proud of what I built. I’m excited for what comes next. And I hope more students like me take the leap.
Learn more about Alabama Data Scholars at QuantHub.com/Intern.
