Houghton University senior Josiah Howard is bringing a fresh perspective — and a knack for working with data — to the Allegany County Area Foundation (ACAF).
Josiah is a double major in data science and mathematics. Originally from Hampton, New Hampshire, Josiah felt called to attend Houghton because of its spiritual and academic environment. One of Josiah’s favorite parts of living in Allegany County is the weather, as “it brings an element of surprise to each morning and acts as an adrenaline rush.”
Throughout his time at Houghton, Josiah has worked on various projects requiring him to gain skills such as data acquisition, data wrangling, and data visualization. Because of this, he specializes in finding creative, data-driven solutions to non-standard problems.
“Josiah is very smart and has a mature approach to his work,” ACAF Executive Director Bruce Campbell said. “We anticipate really benefitting from the research he's doing.”
During the Spring 2026 semester, Josiah prepared and presented his data science capstone project on asset valuation to ACAF’s Board of Directors under the guidance of Dr. Katrina Koehler.
“Josiah did great work for ACAF last spring as part of a data science class project,” Bruce said. “We are very glad that he's available to work again with us in this intern role.”
In addition to his studies, Josiah has served as the president of Houghton University’s Chess Club for two years and is currently the treasurer for Sigma Zeta. Josiah is also a Resident Assistant for Shenawana Hall on campus.
Josiah is enthusiastic about joining the Allegany County Area Foundation team.
“I am very excited to join an organization dedicated to helping people,” Josiah said. “I think our culture needs to shift more towards serving others, rather than being self-focused. I’m looking forward to joining a team that is focused on serving its community and making a lasting impact.”
Josiah is ACAF’s first intern since 2020. He will focus on compiling and analyzing data on poverty and wellness in Allegany County to help inform ACAF’s grantmaking decisions. Josiah will also analyze Google Analytics data to identify trends in ACAF’s website traffic.
“I’m looking forward to getting my hands dirty as I learn about the non-profit sector and help ACAF make the best decisions for our community.”
