Sadie Clarine
By Nathanial Kern, Office of Process Improvement Intern
July 24, 2019
Chasing her passion for large-scale numbers in data is what landed Sadie Clarine at the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) on August 27, 2018. With her Business Information Analytics degree in tow, Sadie set out to learn how her data skills could be used to further develop the transportation industry.
The Build-up
As Sadie would tell you, sometimes the biggest challenge one faces is the unknown. “It was difficult at first trying to figure out what I needed to do exactly or what results my supervisors wanted.” However, as time went on, she learned what information was most relevant to the department and then developed her own knowledge base, which helped her to be successful on her projects. Added to this was the teamwork and learning environment provided to her by supervisors and other interns. Together, these skills were the ingredients for her success.
Photo of Sadie Clarine
“Supervisors are very good at giving positive reinforcement. Having two other interns to ask questions and share experiences with was nice as well.” –Sadie Clarine
The Project
These skills that Sadie developed were essential for the crown jewel of her challenging assignments, creating a tool that used Analysis, within Microsoft Excel, that would help the budget team look at current expenditures as they related to budget amounts. As she describes, “Now, instead of going through multiple steps to obtain and download information off of SAP, the budget team can use the report I created to easily update expenditures directly in the workbook and compare them to the budget amounts.” The report Sadie developed is now used throughout the budget department and makes the entire team more efficient and effective in their job responsibilities.
The Future
Sadie believes that by applying her analytical skills that she started honing during her school education, she has been able to learn how to manage different projects and set priorities in a timely manner. These skill sets she has gained are assisting her as she moves forward in her search for a full time analyst position.
What about incoming Interns?
Sadie postulates that the most important thing future interns need to do is take initiative. “Your supervisor here will treat you as if you are an actual full time employee, giving you very important assignments each week. There is work to be done, so take time learning about your role and how you can help the department out more,” as she puts it. If interns embrace this way of doing things with open arms, Sadie believes that this correlates with those interns being successful, no matter the department they work for at CDOT.