From Colby to Barcelona: Shin Xinyue Wu '26 on Her Data Analyst Internship at hosstinn
Written on December 22nd , 2023 by Naser
Photo by Shin Xinyue Wu ‘26
This post is part of a spotlight series highlighting the work of exceptional students and alumni. The series aims to facilitate knowledge sharing on topics such as internships, jobs, entrepreneurship, and graduate school.
Today, I have the pleasure of talking to Shin Xinyue Wu ‘26, who will tell us about her recent experience as a Data Analyst intern at hosstinn.
Naser: Can you tell us about your role and responsibilities during your tech internship?
Shin: Last summer, I had an incredible internship experience at hosstinn, a startup company in Barcelona. They focus on developing an EdTech platform for upskilling hotel staff. As a data analyst intern under the CEO & co-founder’s mentorship, my main responsibility was to analyze data for insights to enhance the platform’s growth and effectiveness.
The experience had two parts. The first was understanding the platform’s front-end (Angular) and back-end (Django) frameworks, and the PostgreSQL database. With no prior experience in data analysis or these languages, I spent the first two weeks understanding Angular and Django and utilizing SQL to integrate data with the help of ChatGPT and YouTube tutorials.
The other part is to actually conduct the data analysis and create internal platform performance feedback reports. At the beginning stage, my mentor and I decided to use Looker Studio to generate and display the report, however, we had difficulty uploading restructured and analyzed data to it and spent one month to figure that out. The process consists of extensive self-learning, testing, and fluctuating confidence. Ultimately, I generated a report that reflects how the users have performed throughout a chosen time period and their preference for courses on this platform.
Naser: How did you find this internship? And why did you select it?
Shin: I found this internship from Sage Corps, an international internship program that sends university students to work with startups. It provided me with hard-skill training modules and I chose it because, last summer was my freshman summer, a time when most college students do not have any previous working experience or hard skills, but also a perfect time to explore career interests. Since I always plan to secure a job right after college, I value this opportunity a lot.
Naser: Can you tell us about the interview process? And how did you prepare for it?
Shin: I underwent two interviews: one for Sage Corps and another for hosstinn. Both were typical and concise, friendly and ideal for freshmen/sophomores. They followed a similar structure: self-introduction, why this program/role, how would you fit in this program/role. As long as a person is familiar with their resume and knows how their past experiences can be related to the value/responsibilities of the program/role, the interview should be smooth and chill.
Naser: How did the internship align with your academic studies at Colby, and did it provide any unique perspectives or insights?
Shin: At Colby, as a Computer Science and Economics double major, I initially considered finance or consulting internships. Surprisingly, this data analyst role made me passionate and interested in a career path I hadn’t considered before. It taught me not to set too many limitations for myself and to embrace new challenges and opportunities. My studies at Colby laid a solid foundation for this internship, especially the project-based CS classes, which taught me rapid self-learning and effective progress management. These skills will be beneficial in my future internships and career.
Naser: What tips would you give students interested in doing an internship in the future?
Shin: Don’t be afraid to try, especially as freshmen and sophomores! Explore your interests without limiting yourself to labels! A possible way is to start with smaller companies or startups, like my experience at hosstinn, where I found a passionate team and gained significant freedom and learning opportunities, which I can hardly experience in those “tech giants” as an intern. You can directly reach out to the people at the startups to show your interest or apply through some programs. For those interested, you can apply for the 2024 summer program at Sage Corps (my referral link: https://sagecorps.com/apply/?gh_src=ef9258ba4us). Feel free to reach out to me via LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/shin-xinyue-wu or email (xwu26 at colby.edu) too!
