Internship with El Savadoran Government Proves Beneficial

For the third consecutive year, a group of University of the Ozarks students spent their summer serving an internship in El Salvador with that government's National Administration of Aqueducts and Sewers (ANDA).

The students included, Naila Pierre, Melissa Coronado Escalante, Jesus Munguia Reyes, Jonathan Santamaria, Raquel Andrea Castellanos Queme, Victoria Lopez, Valerie Marie Mejia Tabora, Kelly Arango Gutierrez, Fernanda Maya Arista, and Mirian Yessenia Miralda Manzanares. The president of ANDA (pictured, center) is Ruben Aleman, a 1994 graduate of U of O.

The eight-week internship program between the University and ANDA began in 2022 and expanded this year to also include students from John Brown University and Harding University.

Pierre, a senior business administration major from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, spent her time in the internship as part of the Environmental Management Unit, also called Unidad Gestión Ambiental (UGA) at ANDA.

"We learned about how that department functions and how important it is to the company and the country, with ANDA being the national water cleaning company in El Salvador," Pierre said. "We visited weekly or bi-weekly water plants and learned how to evaluate and make sure they are functional. We also had a lot of opportunities to travel around the country and get acquainted with amazing people. Toward the end of the internship, the group of interns in our department worked together to create a project for ANDA through UGA."

Pierre said the most impactful aspect of the internship was being able to experience the life of a professional, create a project and make new connections, all while discovering a new country and culture.

"It helped me learn more about myself and get closer to making up my mind about what I want for my future," she said. "More importantly, my Spanish that I studied at Ozarks became so much better. The experience taught me a new aspect of working in group, of planning activities and projects, and it broadened my perspective a little more about the world."

Arango, a senior psychology and business administration major from Guatemala City, Guatemala, worked in the customer service department along with fellow Ozarks classmate Queme.

"We focused on the complaints area of ANDA and required visual tools and resources to help in decision-making processes," Arango said. "We created a dashboard in Microsoft Software Power BI. The dashboard was very interactive, and it presented metrics on the cases that the organization received, such as the number of new complaints, those followed up on, and those resolved. Learning the Power BI was very beneficial. It is a new and great tool that I learned to use for businesses, startups, and personal projects."

Arango said the experience has been a highlight of her college education.

"I gained a lot of knowledge, made new connections, and learned new skills that I can use in class and with my classmates," she said. "Learning to use tools like Power BI not only expanded my technical competencies but also gave me a deeper understanding of the importance of data visualization in decision-making. Moreover, meeting new people and experiencing their different lifestyles motivated me to improve myself and set more ambitious goals for this last semester and for the future. Interacting with professionals in the government sector taught me about dedication and teamwork-values I consider essential both academically and for my personal development. This internship also allowed me to develop interpersonal skills, such as communication and empathy, by working with colleagues and clients from diverse backgrounds. I learned to value the diversity of opinions and approaches, which enriches any project or teamwork. All of this has prepared me not only to face upcoming academic challenges but also to contribute meaningfully to any work environment I find myself in in the future."

Coronado, a junior biology and environmental studies major from Guatemala City, spent her internship working in ANDA's central water quality laboratory, starting with three weeks in the physical-chemical wastewater lab and then moving to the potable water microbiological lab.

"This allowed me to get direct experience in two distinct areas of water quality analysis," she said. "Every day, we received and tested 20-40 water samples from across the country. I also got involved in the water sampling process, attended a training, and visited several water treatment plants. Additionally, I became familiar with the strict ISO-17025 standards that guide laboratory work."

Coronado called the hands-on work in a professional lab as the most valuable part of the experience for her.

"Working in a laboratory outside of the classroom is very different," she said. "There is knowledge that can only be gained through experience, and I feel that this experience has made me more prepared for entering the workforce later in my career. Another thing that impacted me greatly was all the wonderful people I met. All my lab partners and supervisors were amazing and always ready to help. This experience really helped me grow as both a student and a person by giving me valuable lessons that will help me navigate my academic and personal life. It taught me the importance of teamwork; it's incredible the amount of things you can learn from others just by working together. I will never forget everything I learned from the amazing group of people I had the chance to work with; they made the experience unforgettable."

Topics: Internships, Student Stories