My Summer at the United Nations

Last summer, I worked on the data analytics team within the policy and programming branch at the UN. Specifically, I supported the secretariat for the UN Sustainable Development Group and the Resident Coordinator system, which helps coordinate UN country teams globally to drive the 2030 Agenda. I know that sounds like a lot, but that is the beauty of the UN: it is huge, which means there are so many different ways to involve yourself and contribute to meaningful work. 

It was always awesome coming into the office because I was constantly meeting and learning from other interns and staff working on completely different issues. Plus, whenever I had a free moment, I got to explore the incredible chambers, halls, and exhibitions throughout the UN. One highlight was seeing UNICEF’s “School-in-a-Box” kit, which provides resources for a classroom of up to 40 children in regions in need. The kit includes an inflatable globe, supplies for students with disabilities, and even a lid that converts into a blackboard with special paint. 

During my internship, I took ownership of the Cooperation Framework milestone analysis. For context, the Cooperation Framework is basically the main roadmap between the UN and host governments that guides all UN activities in a country to help them reach their Sustainable Development Goals. 

My job was translating heavy Excel monitoring data from each milestone into a presentation that tracked countries’ overall progress. I quickly learned think-cell to keep the slides polished and up to UN design standards. The project tracked a ton of details, from changing support networks to the exact timelines countries needed to finish milestones. Ultimately, I created a presentation that highlighted where things were on track, where they were falling behind, and gave UN programming leadership actionable steps to update annual surveys for better global data collection.

However, my work didn't stop there. When I presented to the programming leadership, I made sure to capture their feedback and action items so the team could move forward right away. This experience showed me that managing heavy data is only half the job. The real value comes from presenting that data so people can actually use it to make confident decisions.

I’m so grateful to my mentors at the UN and the Erb Institute for supporting me throughout this internship, and I can't wait to bring what I've learned into my senior year and what comes next.