UWA Data Science student, Wei Hong Tan, recently contributed 100 hours through a McCusker Centre for Citizenship internship to support the work of The Salvation Army’s Transitional Support Service with young people leaving care.
Wei saw his efforts as a Data Intern with the charity make a tangible difference in the efficiency of operations and at the same time, he gained a better understanding of some of the challenges faced by young people leaving out-of-home care experiences, including homelessness.
“I wanted to contribute my data science skills to the community,” Wei said.
“I reviewed and updated the service’s database for young people who have been in care, so that The Salvation Army staff could spend more time on what was needed and waste less time dealing with IT issues in their database,
“Through this internship I have also changed my perspective on people who are affected by homelessness,” he said.
“I never thought of it [homelessness] as a complex and systematic issue, that needs not only social awareness but also action from governments in order to fix,
“Homelessness is not caused by personal attitudes, but a vicious cycle,”
Wei said the biggest challenge of the internship was a practical one.
“A lot of coding scripts are not taught explicitly in uni, but I could acquire the skills and knowledge I needed for the Data Intern role based on the main concepts that l learned in my studies at UWA,” he said.
Yuri D’Amico, Wei’s internship supervisor at The Salvation Army, said his commitment and support at the charity had been appreciated.
“Wei’s ongoing support has been greatly appreciated by the Transitional Support Service,
“Wei’s skills in updating our system have had a positive impact in the daily work we are doing with our young people; our Team will miss Wei’s bubbly personality,” he said.
Wei, a Malaysian citizen studying at UWA as an international student, recommended the McCusker Centre for Citizenship intern experience for other students.
“The internship allows you to step out from the university environment and learn how the world works,
“You learn a lot on the journey – life is not just study, it can be meaningful when you know there are people who could use your helping hand,”