Meet Temirlan Utegulov, an International Affairs major at the American University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan. Temirlan is honing his skills at the American Councils for International Education, where he’s diving deep into data analytics. From developing Power BI dashboards to streamlining reporting processes and crafting strategic insights, Temirlan is making a significant impact. Beyond technical expertise, his internship experience in Washington, D.C., and participation in The Washington Center’s program have provided invaluable lessons in professionalism and U.S. work culture—skills he’s eager to bring back to his home country.
Tell us about a project you worked on during your internship that stood out, and how it helped build your confidence for a future job or career.
Building the dashboard that analyzed donation transactions that were directly retrieved from the organization's CRM system. This project presented a real and unprecedented challenge for me as a rising data professional: connecting Power BI to the CRM's database, using an API to ensure live updates of the dashboard.
At first, I couldn't really wrap my head around this task as this was my first experience using Power BI, despite having previous experience with other BI tools, like Tableau. Thankfully, my research skills and aptitude for data analysis helped me a lot with this task, and I was able to successfully build a dynamic dashboard that directly connected to the CRM's database.
Now, the Vice President of Strategic Development at American Councils for International Education uses this dashboard for Board of Trustees reports and strategic decisions regarding the funding of educational campaigns.
What are some of the specific skills and networking opportunities you have gained during this experience that you’ll take with you into a future job?
Working with Power BI, a business intelligence tool that was fairly new for me, built a strong foundation for the future positions I aspire to take after the end of this internship. It is yet another tool for my collection of data skills that I will use for my future career opportunities.
Apart from improving my hard skills, I've had plenty of networking opportunities with people of different backgrounds: politicians, ambassadors, government employees, successful grad students in my target programs and schools (it was very helpful for my master's program application) and other professionals in my field of interest. 
What was your most exciting experience while at TWC?
Meeting the coolest people and connecting with them throughout the 3-4 months: my fellow colleagues, who have been supporting me this whole time, making my adjustment as smooth and quick as possible, and challenging me in ways that is making me a stronger more competitive applicant for future positions. My group of friends and fellow capstone students, with whom I arrived here and spent many hours playing board games, exploring different parts of D.C., having random dinners, and talking for hours; and some other people I happened to meet have made my time in D.C. special.
However, the most important person who made this trip possible is Rosa, our program mom, who treated us, took us to cultural trips, fed us, and made our stay in D.C. truly memorable. [Note: international students in TWC’s AIP program can coordinate with a local host to support their TWC experience. The Director of International Programs will work with students on a case-by-case basis to coordinate].
What were things that you were concerned about when applying for the program, and what did you do to overcome those concerns? This could include finances, living in a new city, uncertainty about your internship, etc.
I was just concerned about the food and what I was going to eat. What I did was just let it go and eat whatever I wanted. I fell in love with Trader Joe's [grocery store a 10-minute walk from the RAF]. There are a variety of healthy food options, especially pre-washed salad bags. That was a game changer for me as they just save so much time! Oh, and the produce here was amazing; there were things I couldn't even find at home!
What’s the number one piece of advice you would give to a student considering joining the TWC program?
Go out there and meet as many people as possible, because it's them who make a difference in journeys like this. 
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