At Cultural Coalition, we believe that art and culture can heal our communities. And behind every vibrant performance and colorful mask at our festivals, there is a mountain of data that we collect to help keep these traditions alive. This semester, we were lucky enough to have Mahira Rahman, an ASU Piper Servant Leader Intern, join us as our Survey Analyst Intern to help bridge the gap between the stage and the spreadsheet.
She assisted us with updating the audience surveys at our festivals, analyzing the data collected, and creating an Impact Report summary sheet highlighting the most significant information shared by our audiences. As Mahira’s internship comes to a close, we caught up with her to chat about her journey with us from January to April 2026. Here’s a glimpse into her experience!
For Mahira, the best part of the job wasn’t just collecting and analyzing data—it was experiencing how art and culture brings people together. Stepping out of the office and into our festivals allowed her to see the “artistic side” of community building. “Attending the events and being in that environment—being around so many different types of people and experiencing different cultures—gave me a new perspective. It was so inspiring to see the performances and artwork up close.”
She also noted how infectious the energy was among our volunteers, seeing firsthand how much heart goes into every Cultural Coalition event. How we have many returning volunteers and how each volunteer is excited about different aspects of participating in our events – mask making, information booth helper, or kids art activities.
Mahira was able to enjoy our festivals as an audience member while also being our data detective. While she admits that cleaning survey data took serious concentration, “Having Renee and Carmen’s help with understanding the reasons behind why we were asking certain questions or what we needed to share with our funders made it all worth it.”
Mahira shared that she even taught herself new Excel functions to get the job done! “I learned that not all data is the same. You have to approach things differently depending on how they need to be shared. It’s about presenting numbers in a way that funders can truly understand the impact on the community.” She mastered new tools like Google Sheets and Canva to turn raw numbers into beautiful, presentable reports.
She shared that while the data analysis was more complex than she initially expected, the feeling of accomplishment after finishing a report was “huge.”
Mahira, thank you for your hard work, your “can-do” attitude with those tricky spreadsheets, and your passion for our mission. You’ve helped us show our funders exactly why these cultural experiences matter to our community.
We can’t wait to see what you achieve next in your professional journey!
