Phillip's Internship At The FCC Was Fun And Rewarding!
Phillip Post is at Olin College of Engineering
Phillip Post is a Goldwater Scholar studying Electrical Computer Engineering at Olin College of Engineering in Needham, MA.
Phillip did research in Space Filings and researching Government databases at Olin during the first two summers of college before interning at the FCC.
1.The FCC
The next summer, Phillip interned for the Federal Communications Commission.
But he didn't actually intern explicitly for the Space Bureau, the people that do satellite applications:
Since he had done continuous satellite research for the last two and a half years,
He had many potential conflicts of interest!
So Phillip was placed in the Office of Economic Analysis, which handles economic and statistics-based questions for the FCC.
2.Project 1: Broadband Map of the US
The FCC had recently rolled out a Broadband Map of the United States, where
They show “What your Internet speed should be”, and “What you should expect”.
There was an option for you, the user, to indicate that you are not seeing those speeds, tell the FCC, and they would go & verify.
Because companies that offer those services have some legal liability,
They have to guarantee the speeds that they actually advertise.
And Phillip’s specific role was to create a model to recommend, where the FCC can go to do further testing?
Now, in areas where FCC was not receiving any feedback from people,
FCC would figure out areas from where there is no feedback and
And how to proactively test in those areas?
So Phillip did a lot of coding using different datasets to determine
The ones with reports tended to be wealthier or ones with higher education;
While ones without reports were areas ones with unserved or under-served communities that needed high speed infrastructure investments.
3.Project 2: Crisis Hotline Number
Phillip was pushing hard to do better data collection of who's using the Hotline Number, because he is passionate about mental health access in the United States.
This included:
How many phone calls the Hotline is getting a day?
Is it meeting everyone's needs?
What's the average wait time before someone gets on the phone?
Is the center able to provide them with help and resources?
So, before even doing any kind of data analysis,
The thrust was to start that conversation of how to get this data;
Then how to make indispensable tools and resources can do a better job of saving lives!
4.Project 3 : Space Collisions Avoidance
There's a UN Committee on Orbital Space debris called The Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC).
“Another plug for working in government for an internship is that all federal agencies are completely overworked. They do not have enough people to do the jobs that they have.
So, sometimes you'll get a really huge project, with all the resources and support of the people around you, to go do your best and see what you can do.”
For Phillip, it came when the IADC asked the United States about their policy on orbital space debris:
What's the US position?
Views on where we should be heading with orbital debris?
Should we have stricter collision avoidance measures?
Should we restrict the number of satellites we launch up into space, etc?
And someone from the Space Bureau said, “Hey, Phillip, why don't you take this?”
Phillip started two weeks of the furious reading of the NASA documentation:
Looking at every single protocol that currently companies are taking in the United States,
There are recommendations, but there's no set rules on
When and How should you avoid running into another satellite!
But, there isn't a firm legal framework for what to do.
So, Phillip’s role was to write that response to the United Nations outlining
The current recommendations,
What companies are currently doing, and then
Looking forward, this is what the US would like to see.
5.Plug for Interning with the Government
Phillip’s experience interning at the FCC led to some great takeaways:
If you want to do public service, or work for the government, Just go and do it for an internship, ideally in your sophomore year,
Because companies may not want you till you're a Junior.
But, when you're a sophomore, government will more than be happy to take you.
The people in government are just exceptionally nice and skilled,
And it's just a really kind of fun, rewarding place to learn and build up your skill set!
6.On with the Podcast
On our podcast, Phillip shares his undergraduate college journey at Olin College, Researching Government databases, Winning the Goldwater Scholarship, Internship at FCC, and Advice for High Schoolers.
Listen to the Podcast with Phillip Post of Olin College. (58-Minute Listen).
Hope you find the stories and articles in the Newsletter inspiring and helpful. Please give me feedback or leave a comment to let me how I am doing.
Thanks.
Finally, my heartfelt Thanks to all my Podcast guests who have been generous with their time and counsel on my Podcast.
Have a wonderful week!
Venkat