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Informatics student

Q: Please share any additional academic plans (dual degree, research focus, minor, specialization, etc.) you may be pursuing.

A: I'm on the data science track and minoring in French. 

Q: Please tell us about your background and why you decided to come to the iSchool.

A: I was initially drawn to the iSchool for its focus on equity and social work. When I started taking INFO classes, the impactful connections I made with my professors and TAs inspired me to get even more involved in the iSchool. Additionally, fitting so well into the teamwork and project-based classes further convinced me that it was the right place for me. 

I was inspired to pursue the data science track in particular after taking INFO 201 with Mike Freeman. In his class, we worked on a group project where we found data for food insecurity in America and created data visualizations based on that. To me, this project was mind-blowing because I could combine tech and data science with something that I care about. 

Q: What excites you about the information field?

A: I'm excited by being empowered to do good. Primarily, I am interested in how technology and data science can be used to address causes I care about, such as improving environmental sustainability and uplifting the trans and queer community.

Q: What’s been your favorite iSchool course or learning experience (i.e. directed fieldwork, research project, etc.)?

A: My favorite learning experience was taking INFO 201 with Mike Freeman in winter 2021. It was my first great college project and team experience, and the teaching team was incredibly encouraging and inspiring. This was also the first time I realized that I could combine my passions in volunteering and social work with technology, as our team's project was building data visualizations on food insecurity in America.

However, my favorite iSchool-related experience overall has been as a TA for INFO 201 this year. Not only have I learned a lot about both teaching and learning, but I have gotten the opportunity to give back to the iSchool in a way that it has given to me. I don’t know if I can fully describe how much being a TA has impacted me and helped me grow as a person. A big takeaway that I’ve found from teaching is that every student has a way of doing something and we need to do our best to support them based on that. I can only hope that the help and encouragement I give my students now can match what I have been given by Greg Hay, Mike Freeman, Laura Schildkraut, Melanie Walsh, and all the other teachers I have had that have helped me in my information journey.

Q: Tell us about an experience you’ve had at the iSchool that has informed or reshaped your career goals?

A: When I took the databases class last year in INFO 330 and I had Professor Greg Hay, I think that was the first time that I was in a coding class where I felt like I belonged there and that was also the moment I realized that I wanted to be in Informatics for sure. The reason for this was the way Professor Hay taught and our interactions with him. He always emphasized that we were on the same team and that he was going to help his students get from Point A to Point B, no matter what our coding experience. This really solidified for me that if I want to go into tech I can definitely do it. 

Q: What about your iSchool journey thus far are you most proud of?

A: Something that I'm most proud of is being a teaching assistant for the last three quarters starting fall 2021 and I think it showed me just how much I've grown. When I first started taking Informatics classes, I was in the student role looking up to my instructors and then that role shifted when I became a teaching assistant because suddenly I was the person that other people are looking up to. Being a TA has given me the chance to give back like all those people who helped me along the way. As a TA, I get to be the person who’s there for students that are in the same shoes I once was. 

Q: What is next on the horizon for you?

A: My primary goal, after I leave the iSchool, is to do community service in some way. An example of that is my Capstone project, in which I am working with a team of other queer Informatics students and allies to build a clothing exchange application for the local trans community. I hope to give back in some way to communities that I care about a lot and I think that the iSchool has definitely helped me go in that direction, because not only is it focusing on improving my tech skills, but it also centers most tech skills around helping communities and helping people. 

Q: What’s the best advice you have ever received? 

A: I’ve received a lot of good advice, but the one that stands out the most is “every interaction makes an impression.” I feel like maybe that’s not true for everyone, but definitely, for me, I feel like what has been the pinnacle of my Informatics experience is that it’s not solely about my technical proficiency or how good I am at things, but it’s also about the people I’m interacting with and whether I am coming across as someone who wants to help. Every time I interact with them, it is like a small opportunity to show them that I’m someone that they should or should want to help. As a TA, I look out for those interactions I have with students and which students are open to receiving help, whom I will do my best to help succeed.