Name: Madeleine Hager
Class Year: 2021
Major: Growth and Structure of Cities
Hometown: Rochester, NY
Internship Organization: Centennial Parkside CDC
Job Title: Real Estate Data Analyst
Location: Remote
When I found out I would be working with Centennial Parkside CDC doing real estate analysis research, I was thrilled. Not only was the internship geared towards impactful work in a field I was interested in, but it was one of the rare internships available during the beginnings of the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. I was perfectly happy to be working remotely and went in with the expectation that I would spend the internship with my head in Excel. And for much of my work, I was buried in Excel, but what I was not expecting was to find human connection and community as well.
From the beginning, my advisor for the internship strongly encouraged I call and speak with many of the board members and leaders of the CPCDC and to sit in on meetings. I found myself meeting (virtually) far more people than I ever thought I would in quarantine, and making connections with smart, talented experts in their field. I was happily surprised that, as my internship and knowledge progressed, Chris, the director of the organization, was wonderful about inviting me to sit in on meetings with investors and architects to be more deeply involved with the CPCDC’s current work and future plans. I developed a lovely relationship with one of the board members, Joyce, who was so welcoming to me and made me feel like a part of her community, even though we couldn’t work with each other in person.
The connections I was able to make with the people in the organization made the data collection and analysis I was doing so much more valuable. As I did not grow up nor have ever lived in the neighborhood I was studying, it was so valuable to hear the perspectives of people who knew the neighborhood. They made the data become much more than numbers in a spreadsheet. Unfortunately, the data I was looking at was quite sad: high tax delinquency rates, encroaching developer presence, and high vacancy. But as the team reiterated many times, having the numbers to back up trends they were already seeing was so important to them.
As my data collection came to an end, I began the formation of key statistics and dipped my foot in ArcGIS again for the first time since a class in my sophomore year. I struggled fabulously but was lucky enough to have a master’s Penn student who had previously worked with CPCDC as support. As I went through and compiled my report, I was so proud of what I had produced—a document that three months before, when it had been proposed in my plan of work, had been extraordinarily intimidating. But, as my supervisor told me I would, I learned an immense amount over the course of the summer and am really happy with the product I put out. Since my work was mostly in Excel, I unfortunately don’t have any exciting photos to share for my blog, but I will leave you with a happy reminder that we can connect even apart.
Visit the Summer 2020 Internships page to read more student stories.