The Benefits of Diligence
As an intern at the Clark County Education Association, I was challenged like I’d never been before. My first project was to design a webpage that creates simple data visualizations. Our entire team would use this page to create bar charts, line charts, and scatter plots from the union’s database. To create the page, I had to use JavaScript, CSS, HTML, and PHP – most of which I had no experience in. With diligence, I was able to learn these skills and complete this challenging project.
Each day, I focused on a single task. For example, one of my first goals was to create a bar chart. One day, I would create the drop-down menus. Another, I would reorganize the data based upon the selections. Another, I would create the bar chart itself. Another, I would add a title or legend to the graph. Working on one thing at a time enabled me to work efficiently and accurately.
Lastly, I pushed myself to complete hard tasks. To reach solutions, I needed to switch to a coding mindset. This mindset includes understanding how each piece of code connects to everything else. To design a piece of code, I had to break it down to its very foundation. First, I needed to consider its required inputs and desired outputs. Then, I needed to consider what I would do with those inputs: how the code would transform the data to create the outputs. As I succeeded on one task after another, I kept setting new goals for myself.
By managing my time, building my skills, and challenging myself, I was able to make considerable progress on my internship projects within a span of four months. As a result, I was offered a permanent full-time position.
Monica Cordova-Medina graduated from UNLV in the Spring of 2021 with a B.A. in Mathematics and a minor in Psychology. She has been a member of the Interactive Measurement Group since the Summer of 2020 and has been an Action Editor since the Spring of 2021. Currently, she works as a Data Scientist for the Clark County Education Association where she analyzes union-related and school-related data to form research-based decisions.