When Ellie Debo ’22, began her internship with Central Michigan University (CMU) Health, she didn’t know exactly what she wanted to do – and neither did they. CMU Health President/CEO Sam Shaheen ‘88 set up a “rotating” internship for Debo to let her explore the operations, finance, legal, and human resources departments.

That first internship helped Debo sharpen her focus on a career in public health. It also helped CMU Health realize its own need for a business data analyst – someone, it turns out, very much like the intern so familiar with the organization. Debo joined CMU Health just days after graduating from Albion.

As you might expect, Debo’s job is mostly about reporting. “Each week, I send around 20 reports to operational, administrative, and clinical team members, and monthly, I am doing additional reports on everything from clinic usage to statistics for cancer, diabetes, and blood pressure screenings,” Debo said. “I work with the team leaders to help understand what this data means and how it is impacting our clinics, providers, and patients.”

She added, “I continue to see how vital data is to an organization. Not only does data display productivity, success, and limitations, it helps to guide and inform daily decisions. If the data tells us we didn’t make the correct adjustment, it allows us to pivot in the right direction. Without data, we would be making decisions based on ‘gut’ and not on facts.”

At Albion, Debo studied business with a minor in anthropology and sociology, and did a total of two internships as part of the Wilson Institute for Medicine and the Gerstacker Institute for Business. She was a member of Alpha Chi Omega, the women’s tennis team, and Student Athlete Advisory Council.