By Jennifer Monahan
From analyzing parole violation patterns in Pennsylvania's state corrections system to mapping language barriers across Allegheny County, four Heinz College students spent their summer tackling some of the thorniest challenges in public service—armed with SQL queries, statistical models, and a healthy dose of optimism about what data can accomplish when harnessed to solve real-world problems.
Samantha Archie, Mukesh Bastola, Zarina Davletova, and Tiffany Gan gained practical experience in using technology to advance the public good through the Public Interest Technology (PIT) Summer Fellowship, a new initiative created by the Reidy Career Center and funded by Heinz College. The Fellowship offers students more efficient pathways to PIT roles and provides ongoing personal and professional development opportunities.
In their own words, these students shared how they are working at the intersection of people, policy, and technology to help local governments and non-profit organizations make data-driven decisions.
Samantha Archie 
was a fellow at the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Bureau of Planning, Research, and Statistics in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Describe your internship and what a typical day looks like for you.
I conducted research in support of a potential revision to the state's parole violation sanctioning grid, or “VSG.” I went through the department’s data warehouse and analyzed almost 10 years of anonymized records on parole violations and corresponding sanctions. I also interviewed parole agents and shadowed a parole agent in the field to gather more information about the sanctioning process. The department is trying to ensure the system is effective, implemented fairly across the state, and reliant on data-driven research.
How is your work making a difference for your organization this summer?
I brought a unique perspective because I hadn’t worked in the criminal justice field before; my background is in global public health and international development research. I was able to bring that experience to my research. My team also appreciated my skills in SQL and data analysis, both of which I learned at Heinz College. I’m continuing to work on this project as part of my program’s systems synthesis requirement.
What have you learned from this experience that you'll carry forward in your career?
This experience strengthened my faith in the public servants who work in criminal justice. I worked with passionate people who care and are committed to making a difference through public service. I found it really inspiring. I also appreciated getting to apply the skills I learned in class.
How has your Heinz College education prepared you for success in this internship?
The most applicable classes were “Critical Analysis for Policy Research,” where I learned appropriate research design methodologies, and a sports analytics elective, where I learned how to do multi-level modeling. I also got to apply some of what I learned in my machine learning and artificial intelligence courses.
The interdisciplinary nature of the work that we do at Heinz was key to everything. You get such a wide array of skills that you can bring to the table. Having that broad background really helped me contribute to whatever gaps they needed me to fill.
Samantha is part of the data analytics track in the Public Policy and Management master's program.
Mukesh Bastola was a fellow at Neighborhood Allies in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Describe your internship and what a typical day looks like for you.
I primarily worked with the Digital Inclusion and Innovation Team on projects focused on improving adult digital literacy skills. I led the Language Access Project, an initiative to map the language landscape of non-native English speakers and their access to resources in Allegheny County. I collaborated with several community partners and organizations, conducted research to identify and collect relevant data, cleaned and organized datasets, and developed visualizations in Tableau to present key findings.
I also supported the economic mobility team on impact reporting for its financial empowerment centers by analyzing and visualizing project data to evaluate outcomes and reach.
How did your work make a difference for your organization this summer?
Managing data is often a challenge for small organizations due to resource constraints. My work helped advance the organization’s ability to make data-driven decisions. In particular, the “Language Access Project” has the potential to inform program design, outreach strategies, and service delivery for non-native English speakers.
What have you learned from this experience that you'll carry forward in your career?
This internship deepened my understanding of how nonprofits operate and manage projects. The experience taught me about nonprofit work, project management, program evaluation, and community development in both strategic and operational contexts.
I’ve also strengthened my technical skills in data collection, cleaning, and visualization, as well as my professional skills in collaboration and communication. These experiences will be transferable to future roles in the public or nonprofit sector. Most importantly, I learned the importance of aligning data-driven insights with community needs, which will guide my future academic and professional pursuits.
Courses involving data analytics, visualization, and policy analysis provided me with the technical and critical thinking skills necessary to handle large datasets, draw meaningful insights, and communicate results effectively.Mukesh Bastola, Policy Student
How has your Heinz College education prepared you for success in this internship?
My coursework at Heinz College has been instrumental in my success during this internship. Group projects have prepared me to work effectively in diverse teams, while real-world, project-based assignments have given me the ability to approach complex problems with structured, analytical thinking.
Courses involving data analytics, visualization, and policy analysis provided me with the technical and critical thinking skills necessary to handle large datasets, draw meaningful insights, and communicate results effectively.
Mukesh is part of the master's in Public Policy and Management program. Check out a day in Mukesh's life on the Heinz College Instagram channel.
Zarina Davletova interned with the City of Rockville, Maryland, in the City Manager’s Office. 
Describe your internship and what a typical day looks like for you.
This summer, I designed public dashboards in Envisio to track city initiatives. I built interactive reports to visualize progress on key projects, cleaned and organized data from departments into actionable insights, identified measurement gaps, and recommended improved tracking approaches.
How did your work make a difference for your organization this summer?
It’s been rewarding to play a small role in making city operations more visible to the community. These dashboards help residents understand how their government works while giving staff better ways to measure impact. I’ve learned about the importance of clear data communication in public service.
What have you learned from this experience that you'll carry forward in your career?
Beyond learning Envisio, which was exciting to add to my technical toolkit, I’ve sharpened my data skills. I gained hands-on experience transforming raw metrics into clear visualizations that serve community needs. Working with multiple departments taught me how to tailor technical work for different stakeholders and incorporate feedback effectively.
As a future data analyst, I was able to witness how civic analytics directly impact decision-making. The experience has deepened my appreciation for responsible data practices.
Heinz’s focus on real-world impact shaped how I approach data—not just as numbers, but as tools for transparency and public service.Zarina Davletova, Policy Student
How has your Heinz College education prepared you for success in this internship?
Courses in data visualization helped me design clear dashboards, while policy classes taught me to identify meaningful metrics for decision-making. Most importantly, Heinz’s focus on real-world impact shaped how I approach data—not just as numbers, but as tools for transparency and public service.
Zarina is part of the data analytics track in the Public Policy and Management master's program.
Tiffany Gan served as a research intern at the City of Boston Planning Department Research Division.
Describe your internship and what a typical day looks like for you.
My work involved preparing and updating public-facing datasets and reports using tools like Excel and ArcGIS and data from the U.S. Census Bureau. A typical day involves cleaning and analyzing demographic, housing, income, and labor force data; creating visualizations; drafting presentations that are accessible to non-technical audiences; and collaborating with planners and GIS specialists to ensure the outputs are accurate and publicly accessible.
How did your work make a difference for your organization this summer?
I contributed to two major projects that support the City of Boston’s planning, research, and development goals. One is the Boston at a Glance 2025 report—a public-facing data snapshot of the city’s population, housing, income, and labor force. My work directly supported internal planners and others who rely on this resource to understand trends and make data-informed decisions.
I also worked on a comprehensive analysis of Boston’s life science lab landscape. This work supported a citywide update on lab space availability, development trends, funding patterns, and vacancy rates. Through both projects, I’ve helped translate raw data into actionable, accessible outputs that support transparency and smart planning.
What have you learned from this experience that you'll carry forward in your career?
The internship helped me gain hands-on experience working with public sector data in a policy context. I’ve deepened my understanding of how data inform planning decisions and gained confidence in applying technical tools. It’s also strengthened my ability to communicate data findings to non-technical audiences—an essential skill for future roles in public sector analytics.
How has your Heinz College education prepared you for success in this internship?
Heinz College has been instrumental in preparing me for this internship. In particular, my optimization course taught me to efficiently clean, structure, and analyze large public datasets—skills I’ve used daily to work with Census data, housing reports, and labor force statistics. In addition, my Policy and Politics course gave me the context I needed to frame my analyses. Rather than just running numbers, I’ve been able to think critically about how demographic shifts or income distributions affect housing policy or infrastructure investments in Boston.
Tiffany is part of the data analytics track in the Public Policy and Management master's program.
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