My name is Irena Chen, and I am a rising senior at Hamilton College where I am a math and sociology double major. I was drawn to APPRISE’s summer research assistant program because I am interested in both social science research and public service. APPRISE’s work seemed like a perfect mix of the two. Although I was not originally familiar with energy policy, I was extremely interested in APPRISE’s work on assisting low-income households through their energy efficiency program evaluations as well as their bill assistance program evaluations. I believed this internship to be a great opportunity to utilize my quantitative skills in service-oriented work.

This summer, I have gotten the opportunity to work on several energy efficiency program evaluations for Atlantic City Electric (ACE), including the ACE Quick Home Energy Check Up evaluation, the ACE Home Performance with Energy Star evaluation, and the ACE Small Business Direct Install Program evaluation. These programs provide financial incentives to install energy efficient upgrades in either one’s home or one’s small business. As a summer research assistant, I contributed to our evaluations of these programs. My work this summer has involved administering surveys to program participants, coding verbatim survey responses, conducting qualitative interviews, making data tables, and writing memos for clients. In addition, I have received training with STATA to work on data processing and data analysis. I am grateful that I have had the chance to work on such a diverse range of tasks that contribute to a comprehensive program evaluation because this has allowed me to develop a wide range of skills and also discover my interests.

My favorite part about working at APPRISE has been how easy it is to reach out and chat with my coworkers. As an intern, every assignment has been new to me, so I am often unsure about expectations and whether or not I am on the right track. In such moments when I just need more guidance, I could simply walk up to a coworker’s desk and speak to them about it. Often, the other research assistants or policy analysts would answer my questions and also have me sit with them to explain to me in detail how they usually approach the particular type of task I am working on. I am particularly grateful for Naina, a policy analyst, who has been so helpful to me. For example, she came over after I asked her to take a quick look at some of the tables I made. She ended up sitting with me for twenty minutes looking over every single one of my tables and explaining the details on how to format an APPRISE table, including the exact width of each cell, what kinds of borders to use and when. Beyond when I needed help with something, it has been easy for me to get to know everyone through our monthly birthday parties, happy hours, or weekly outings to the farmer’s market.

As I am reflecting upon my internship experience, I first recognize that within just a span of two months, I have learned a tremendous amount regarding the different components of policy research. Moreover, I have two main takeaways, the first being the efficacy of persistence. When administering surveys, right when I think there is no way any additional participant will take the survey, I get a couple more just by calling one more time. Another takeaway is that I have realized my favorite type of work is quantitative work. At APPRISE, I most enjoyed when I used STATA for data analysis. I have long told people that although I am a double major, I always prefer sociology over math because I think sociology is more meaningful by having altruistic elements to it. However, my experience at APPRISE has reminded me why I became a math major in the first place. I do feel enjoyment when I get to use and develop quantitative and analytical skills. Overall, I feel incredibly grateful for this summer at APPRISE for providing me with a positive professional experience, a greater set of skills, and for helping me understand the kind of work I would like to do in the future.

Written by: Irena Chen, Summer 2024 Research Assistant, Hamilton College Class of 2025