In order to satisfy his interests in business and entrepreneurship, Edward Yousif ’22 got himself a Data-Analytics intern at D.M. Burton Marketing Agency at the beginning of this year. The company is a small online-based marketing and consulting agency that works with a diverse group of clients, and work types ranging from political campaigns to small mom-and-pop restaurants. Given that the company is a small firm with only five employees including himself, Edward got a chance to get into practice with a lot more than just analyzing data.

By applying the Microsoft Excel skills gained from the Accounting and Finance and the Business Management Economics courses, Edward has excellently finished a performance report for the company’s website, client services, social media and email campaign KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), and successfully impressed his boss - Derien Marion-Burton. Going from his success in the first project, Edward moved on to compiling and analyzing the company’s client and services list, as well as working on creating two social media graphics as part of the company’s weekly facts series. Additionally, he also got to develop key email campaigns and projects, assist in strategic development, evaluation, and training materials for the firm, and contribute to the analysis provided in the strategic assessment process, which gave him a diverse experience in the field. His final project - The Dash - required him to gather data from 400 small/medium businesses in Illinois to analyze the effectiveness of the company’s marketing strategies. Even though his internship ended before its completion, this opportunity to work with a large dataset was very informative and practical in the business world.

His professional performance throughout the internship period has given him the chance to extend his internship through the summer, and also a sales role offer. Edward had been seriously considering expanding his role at D.M.Burton, and decided to save the chance in order to pursue a course in Python.