Lynna L

Lynna studies Political Science at UCLA in the United States, with a focus on political and data science. She joined VAC in June 2026 and completed a data-focused internship with a South African community development organization, where she built data infrastructure from scratch, developed tracking systems and impact reports, conducted quantitative and qualitative research, and used data analysis to help community programs measure and communicate their impact.

I picked Cape Town because I wanted my data science background to actually mean something tangible, not just live inside a homework assignment. My internship gave me exactly that. I came in as a Political Science and Data Science student and left having built a data infrastructure completely from scratch master trackers, standardized systems, spreadsheets, and comprehensive impact reports.

What I loved most was witnessing the human dimension behind all the numbers. I got to do site visits, conduct quantitative and qualitative research, and hear firsthand what these programs contributed to the community’s children and families. Having to translate these unique experiences into dashboards, reports, and spreadsheets felt like some of the most meaningful and tangible work I have ever done.

I really enjoyed building out mastery and attendance trackers and running correlation analysis to see how consistent attendance connected to student progress. It felt rewarding to turn everyday classroom data into something that could actually inform decisions. I also loved putting together a donor and sponsor-facing report because it meant translating the day-to-day work happening on the ground into something that could help sustain the program long-term. Seeing that report actually get published and sent out to potential donors, knowing it could genuinely help engage people with the program’s mission, was one of the most rewarding moments of the whole internship.

I also learned that I thrive in ambiguity, particularly when I am handed a problem with no template and no instructions. This is a version of my own resourcefulness I did not recognize until this internship. My biggest tip to incoming interns would be to stay adaptable and work hard. Come in ready to build, not just to observe. The more comfortable you are with creating structure from scratch, the more value you will be able to add. Get to know the organizations beyond the data as well, the stories behind the numbers made everything I built way more meaningful.

The VAC staff made Cape Town feel like home almost instantly. The weekly activities gave interns something to look forward to, and I’m so grateful for how supported I felt navigating an entirely new country. They were incredibly adaptable and helpful, whenever interns needed support, they were there