Short Summary: Molly Isaac was interested in public service and giving back to the Veteran community when she joined the VSFS VA internship’s analytics department. She quickly rose from intern to a leadership position and now serves as the executive team leader.
Molly Isaac has always been interested in working with Veterans. She attended the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Summer Seminar and participated in the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at her university for a semester. Additionally, many of her friends and family members are Veterans. “I love being able to give back to that community and ensure that they are receiving important information like resources,” she explained. Therefore, the Digital Media Engagement (DME) internship was a good fit for her passions.
When she joined the analytics department, Molly did not have previous experience in the field. Although her major in computer science gave her some background in tech work, she still encourages interns to join whether or not they are familiar with analytics. “I think all are welcome in this department, regardless of analytical background! A technical tint is helpful but not essential.”
Molly quickly rose from intern to division officer (DO) and eventually became part of her department’s executive leadership team (ELT). “The roles differ mainly in the interns I oversee and who I communicate with,” she explained. “As DO, I was the intermediary between the interns and the department heads (DHs). As ELT, I still try to keep in touch with the interns, but I’m mainly concerned with the DHs and coordinating with the other departments and real VA employees.”
Molly highly enjoys working in her department’s leadership. “I have a little more say in what kinds of projects we do and what kinds of things we analyze for. It’s really cool to read the weekly reports and see what everyone else is working on.”
She advises future interns to take their time with the onboarding process. “Ask questions – remember that your fellow interns are students like yourself who probably have the exact same questions you do! Also, get excited about the mission. That’s one of the most important parts of any job, in my opinion.”
Writer: Sarah Concepcion
Editors: Julia Pack & Alli P
Graphic Designer: Helena Strohmier
