Volunteer Spotlight: Daniel, Northeastern University Student

As a computer science student at Northeastern University, Daniel has completed many solo projects to practice his technical skills. However, often these projects lacked a professional environment where he could work with clients and make a real-world impact. He joined the Prometheus talent network to gain professional work experience while giving back to communities in need. 

“Once I found [Prometheus], I was at the time really looking to do something that’s going to help people in the real world as well as teach me about data science… I was also looking for something to put on my resume to show I can work with clients.” 

Through Prometheus, Daniel volunteered over 125 hours on a data science project for Mission: Cure, a nonprofit that supports individuals with pancreatitis and their families and caregivers. He gained hands-on experience with widely used tools such as Google Apps Script, Looker, and Power BI. 

Equally as important were the critical client-facing skills Daniel developed. For the first time, he worked directly with clients on a project from start to finish, incorporating feedback and learning how to communicate his work to a non-technical audience. As Mission: Cure shared, “[Daniel] was tuned into our needs and came up with creative solutions to each problem we faced.”  

This project played a key role in helping Daniel achieve his professional goals. Once he added the project to his resume, he began receiving more interview opportunities, and it quickly became the main experience interviewers asked about. Most importantly, it helped him secure his first co-op at Northeastern, a full-time work experience in his field of study, which he believes he wouldn’t have obtained without it. Daniel noted that many employers only consider students with prior co-op experience, making it difficult to gain their first opportunity. 

This project helped Daniel break that cycle. As he explained: “A lot of my peers found it impossible to find their first co-op to get their foot in the door. And I think that’s where this project helped me stand out…The employers treated [the project] as if it was another mini co-op.” In fact, among the three students hired for the position, Daniel was the only one without previous co-op experience. Through providing real-world experience, Daniel’s Prometheus project helped him to secure more than just his first co-op position; it gave him clear career goals. “This project has served a huge impact on figuring out exactly what I want to do in the future.”