How a Data Science Intern Used Carbon Finance on Conservation Projects

Thoughts on internship: The very first week, I was supposed to research different database softwares that I could use to create a new database… I had over 1,000 lines of code that would automatically do stuff for me. I thought that was pretty cool, being able to throw myself into something a lot bigger than I had before.”

Thoughts on Launch: I think the biggest thing with Launch is it’s like a community. It’s not only the training. The training was amazing, but in addition to that, it was also just the community that Launch kind of segued into.

Last week, we got an inside look into Avery’s Launch internship story as a digital marketing intern at a winery. This week, we’re making a pivot to the other side of spectrum and looking at Kal’s data science internship at a leading carbon advisory firm. Kal is originally from Dallas, TX, and is currently a third-year student studying Commerce and Statistics. This past summer, he participated in our Launch Data Science track and interned at TerraCarbon. Read more about his experiences in his interview below:

Can you tell me a little bit more about your company and what they do? What do you think about your company?

“[TerraCarbon] is an advisory firm that focuses on environmental projects. They do a lot of stuff with carbon emissions and trying to manage that. It’s mainly about lumber and how they can balance [managing] carbon emissions with the profits they lose from [using] lumber. A lot of it is quantifying carbon emissions in terms of money and value. We do a lot of net present value, future present value, and stuff like that.

I thought it was really interesting because they had a couple softwares that I had never used before, and they sounded pretty cool. For example, they had one called ArcGIS. It’s like Data Science but for geospatial data. They’ll open 3D maps and stuff like that up. I haven’t worked on that specifically with the internship yet, but that definitely drew me to it. Secondly, I also liked the cause of the company. Conservation and environmental impact are super important, so that also attracted me to TerraCarbon.”

In a pretty basic explanation, what has your internship consisted of?

“The biggest thing is database management. Because TerraCarbon’s a pretty small company, they haven’t had someone to manage their data… Their tables aren’t very organized, so I’ve tried a couple iterations of this project where it’s basically creating a new database for them that allows them to easily access their files and tables. So first, I tried it with Python coding, which didn’t really work out that well because Python is not really robust enough to maintain a solid database, but I’ve been using Microsoft Access which is what they use, and it’s pretty robust so far. I’m developing this kind of calculator where you’ll import one table and it’ll do all the calculations for you and you’ll be able to export all those tables out.”

What’s something cool that you’ve been working on in your internship?

“The very first week, I was supposed to research different database softwares that I could use to create a new database. We ended up with Microsoft Access because they already had that, but the first week I made this web application that had a database built into it. It allowed you to create your own web portal where clients can view any data that the company has. Also the first week, I worked with a lot of Python. I’ve taken coding classes before, but not to this extent, so I had over 1,000 lines of code that would automatically do stuff for me. I thought that was pretty cool, being able to throw myself into something a lot bigger than I had before.”

In what ways did Launch prepare you for your internship?

“I think Launch definitely helped me with the technical aspects. The training period is a pretty short amount of time — it’s three weeks. We first got the fundamentals down. Then we got Python down. Python is pretty commonly used in Data Science, but later on we changed to Sequel. Even though we only covered them for a day or two, I’m now realizing that that day or two was the foundation for a lot of the stuff I’m doing now. Right now I’m working on Sequel, and doing that one day of Sequel in Launch has already helped me for this part of my internship.”

How has the work been different from other work experience you’ve had?

“I think the biggest thing with Launch is it’s like a community. It’s not only the training. The training was amazing, but in addition to that, it was also just the community that Launch kind of segued into. I think that’s one of the biggest things that I really enjoyed about Launch. I also liked the things before that too, like the resume builder and the soft skills. I really liked the soft skills because I’ve never had something like that before. It’s basically like tutoring for that, so I thought that was super helpful. I think that’s what really made Launch stand out for me in terms of any other positions I’ve had or any work experiences I’ve had.”

What would you say to anyone interested in Launch?

“I’d say, for someone who’s interested in Launch, I definitely recommend it. The only thing is you have to be prepared to work. It is a lot of hard work, but it pays off. I would say the same thing for Data Science too. Doing a lot of the grunt work is not necessarily the most fun thing, but for me, what gets me through it is looking to the future and what I can do with these foundational skills.”

If you thought Kal’s internship experience was cool, you can have the same experience by applying for our Launch program on the data science track! If data science isn’t your thing, don’t worry, we’ll also connect you with internship opportunities in other fields like UX, digital marketing, and software engineering. While the work you do will be depend on the company, you’ll leave with the same intensity of training, impact on your company, and sense of community that Kal had. Apply for our Launch program here. The second round of applications closes October 7th.