Peter Hughes, undergraduate student

Over the summer, senior history major Peter Hughes had an internship with the political public relations firm Longwell Partners Inc. in Washington, D.C. Hughes says, “I was mainly hired to aid in research for media campaign projects, but I used the data analysis skills and programs I’ve learned with my two minors to create a program they are still using with their focus group data today.” Hughes is minoring in Data and Decisions, as well as Integrated Security with a concentration in Cybersecurity. We talked with Peter to learn more about his internship – read on for the full Q&A!

In what ways did being a history major help you during this experience? 

My history major helped me with the internship by giving me the ability to conduct research efficiently and almost instantaneously weed out potential sources of misinformation or non-credible news outlets and sources. Being a history major has also cultivated my ability to effectively communicate and write this research. 

Tell me a little more about the data program you created during your internship. 

Longwell Partners Inc. conducts weekly focus groups to gauge support for and interest in a wide variety of national and political news subjects, specifically those involving the 2024 Republican Primary Race and the 2024 Presidential Election. The data from these focus groups had never been able to be quantified or tracked over time. So, I created KPI's (Key Performance Indicators) to help categorize survey results based on the different demographics surveyed, such as swing states, gender, political affiliation, etc. 

With the KPI data I gathered through focus group archive research, I created a data visualization board with in-depth analysis tools, utilizing the software Microsoft Power BI (Business Intelligence). This data visualization and analysis tool is scalable for future data imports. Longwell Partners Inc. is still using my program following a training session I conducted on Power BI and its best uses moving forward. 

What was your biggest takeaway from this experience?

The biggest lesson I learned is to never let your current role stop you from growing your range of subject knowledge. Initially, the purpose of my internship was to help with research to aid in company campaigns. However, my knowledge of technology led me to serve a very niche role in the company after only a few weeks, making me a valuable asset to the company.

What do you hope to do after graduation? 

I'll be graduating in spring 2024. Earlier this month, I was offered admission to Virginia Tech's Master of Science in Business Administration program with a concentration in Business Analytics. I plan to enroll in the program to pursue a career using the data software that I used in my internship, as well as many others.

Written by Cammie Sgarrella