At Orange Bike Brewing Company, no two days look the same for Evan Kaminski – and he’s finding value in that variety.
As a business analytics major at the University of Southern Maine, Kaminski wasn’t expecting to intern at a brewery. Orange Bike Brewing was one of several opportunities available through USM’s Career Hub, and to his surprise, it’s taken his academic interests in a new direction.
“It’s been such a good experience, and I’ve learned so much beyond just data and business analytics,” said Kaminski.
Kaminski’s role as a data process optimization intern quickly expanded. He spent much of his time figuring out how the brewery’s daily operations translated into data and what that information could reveal.
“I covered all of our utility expenses along with our waste,” he said . “Then I looked at potential ways we could reduce that waste and save money through it.”
To make sense of those numbers, Kaminski used benchmarking tools from the Brewers Association, which gathers data from breweries nationwide. By comparing Orange Bike’s production, water use and size to similar breweries, he could see where the company was doing well and where it could improve.
“I like the collaborative aspect of it,” he said . “All of these breweries are crowdsourcing their data and making it available to each other because they want each other to be successful. Portland breweries don’t want other Portland breweries to fail. They want to coexist.”
Working at a startup like Orange Bike Brewing also meant helping out wherever needed, giving him even more opportunities to learn.
“I’ll talk to the head of marketing or the events people and ask, ‘What do you need? What can I help you with?’” he said.
That flexibility also allowed Kaminski to apply his analytical skills in new ways. With his experience as a merchandiser at Polar Beverages, he started considering how product placement and visibility shape customer choices. Working with different teams helped him connect the dots between data, operations and marketing in a real-world business setting.
Kaminski said he’s learned to think critically, adapt and contribute across many parts of a business.
He’s also seen firsthand how data can inform decisions and solve problems.
“I was expecting to be working in sheets all the time,” he said . “But I’m also putting together projects using that data and making my own analysis based on it.”
Kaminski’s advice to other students: Keep an open mind, and learn from the unexpected.
“You might be getting a data analytics internship, but half of your work may have nothing to do with data analytics,” he said .
Kaminski says it’s important to turn that into an opportunity instead of a problem.
“Embrace any chaos you experience,” he adds. “Chaos will give you so much more insight into what you want, what you don’t want, and what you’re capable of.”