Intern Update: Miley Brunner

Data Analytics Intern, Miley Brunner, has spent her summer at Prairie State analyzing all aspects of data from the plant and mine to describe, predict, and improve the company’s processes.

Miley’s daily tasks include meeting with managers and supervisors to discuss what data they would like to analyze, along with how they would like to present the data in reports. She then finds, imports, and analyzes the data in Microsoft Power BI.

Miley has been tasked with creating reports on various matters, such as work order backlog aging, fuels and material handling, material marketing, maintenance scheduling, contractor key performance indicators, and safety insights. She has working drafts published for nearly every report she has started, with a couple reports already reaching completion. Her goal is to complete all reports by the end of the summer.

Miley has enjoyed all aspects of her internship so far. “My favorite part has been having the opportunity to meet with managers and supervisors and helping them get better insight to whatever it is they need. I really enjoy helping others, and it is nice to see my work make a difference.”

She has gained experience in Power BI, utilizing this software to analyze data. Miley had no prior experience with mines or power plants, so this experience has also taught her about the coal-fired power generation industry.

When asked if this internship has affected her future plans, Miley said, “This internship has shown me that computer science is the field of work for me. I really enjoy the work that I am doing here in data analysis. I love to problem solve and help others, which I would say are the two main things that this internship entails.” She also appreciates having the option of remaining in data analysis or venturing into the software side of analytics.

This fall, Miley will return to the University of Illinois for her sophomore year studying computer science. She is hoping to complete her bachelor’s degree and pursue a career in the field.