Internship in MD Department of Education School and Community Nutrition Programs

Internship Opportunity 

The Maryland State Department of Education Office of School and Community Nutrition Programs, in  partnership with the Division of Assessment and Accountabilit (Research Branch), is seeking an intern. The  intern will assist with the federally required triennial assessment of school wellness policies and other  projects. The internship period is 20 hours per week (unpaid) during the 2027 Spring semester, with a start  date in December 2026 (preferred) or January 2027.

For more information and to submit a resume for consideration, contact Leslie Sessom-Parks, Chief – Professional Development and Performance (Nutrition Programs) -

Leslie.sessomparks@maryland.gov or Sabir Nazarov, Strategist (Research Branch) – sabir.nazarov@maryland.gov

Key Responsibilities & Duties

• Survey Management & Oversight: Provide administrative management and oversight of two system- level surveys deployed across the jurisdiction on behalf of the Office of Nutrition.

• Respondent Support & Problem-Solving: Act as the primary point of contact for survey respondents, proactively troubleshooting technical issues, answering inquiries, and resolving user problems to ensure a 100% survey completion rate.

• Data Analysis & Tracking: Assist with compiling, organizing, and cleaning datasets in preparation for comprehensive analysis. This role involves exceptional attention to detail and a significant amount of manual data tracking, documentation, and administrative cross-referencing to ensure data accuracy.

• Report Writing: Collaborate on producing, editing, and automating final reports and summaries.

• Cross-Departmental Analytics Support: Assist with ad-hoc data analysis projects and specialized research initiatives as needed within the Research Branch.

Reporting & Interfacing 

• Primary Supervisor: The intern reports directly to the designated official or leadership team within  the Office of Nutrition.  

• Research Collaboration: The intern will interface on an ad-hoc, project-by-project basis with data  analysts and researchers within the Research Branch to support cross-departmental analytics tasks.

Required Skills & Qualifications 

• Exceptional Attention to Detail: Proven ability to meticulously manage, enter, cross-reference,  and clean large datasets while maintaining data integrity and accuracy. 

• Strong Interpersonal & Communication Skills: Ability to communicate professionally, clearly, and  persistently with a diverse range of school and institutional stakeholders via email and phone. 

• Proactive Problem-Solving: Comfort with identifying technical or logistical hurdles and independently  resolving them to assist respondents. 

• Core Data Literacy: Proficiency with basic data management tools (e.g., Excel or basic data analytics  software) to effectively compile, organize, and prepare datasets for analysis. 

• Technical Writing: Ability to clearly synthesize data findings and assist in drafting structured  summaries, technical reports, or compliance assessments.