My Summer Internship with Civic Nation

Salvatore Macchione, MPP Class of 2026, shares about his remote summer internship with Civic Nation, sponsored by the University of Chicago Institute of Politics.

I like to imagine that my summer internship was as close to the platonic ideal as it could get. I’d awaken each morning in my childhood home, kaleidoscopic sunrays shining through my glass block bedroom windows, crawl out of bed and walk ten feet to fix myself a cup of coffee, throw on a button-up, walk six more feet to my desk, and then clock in for the day. Though a remote internship may have been a foreign concept before the pandemic, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

I spent eight weeks this summer as the Data and Technology Intern with Civic Nation—a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that promotes civic engagement and political advocacy across the United States, and worked alongside six other incredibly talented and helpful data team members. In my role, I provided data and tech support  to Civic Nation’s initiative teams, using Python coding skills—including data management, merging, and analysis—that I honed while taking the Data Analytics Specialization.

One  of the most gratifying projects I undertook for Civic Nation  involved utilizing U.S. Census tract-level data and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Social Vulnerability Index to define and identify under-resourced neighborhoods in the U.S. After three weeks of coding and data analysis, I was able to create  a searchable tool that enabled any user to enter a ZIP code and immediately find whether the area would be considered under-resourced or not relative to the rest of the country. Now, Civic Nation’s Change Collective initiative—which seeks to train and elevate new local leaders in cities across the country—can use this tool to engage in more effective and equitable outreach. Having the opportunity to use my still-improving coding abilities while simultaneously flexing my problem-solving and creativity muscles to contribute to this impact was incredibly rewarding.   

Reflecting on my internship experience, I would be remiss if I did not thank the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, which provided the financial support to make the internship feasible. Interning with Civic Nation was a meaningful experience, and I look forward to using the skills I gained from it in my next position and beyond.