How did you become interested in Statistical Sciences?
What I was really good at was analytical chemistry so that kind of opened the door to statistics. What I thought was, if you’re good at it, why not give it a try?
What specifically did you like about the statistics program at U of T?
What is there not to like about U of T’s statistics program? I love the fact that we had to learn coding. In the first year, we had to take a computer science course that had nothing to do with statistics. It was where we got to learn Python. I had a lot of fun with problem-solving and gained experience from doing the assignments.
What sets your research apart is your curiosity, which will guide you through the analysis and motivate you to overcome any challenges you come across. Anytime I had a question, I knew that I could answer it myself based on what I learned from the program.
Towards the end of my program, I took a statistics collaboration course (STA490Y1), where I collaborated with a graduate student on a research project. It was a lot of fun working as a statistician in a research group, finding solutions to messy data and building a predictive model. That was a great learning experience for me, and I highly recommend it.
Are there any lessons you’ve learned during your studies that are still valuable to you in your career today?
What I liked about my education at U of T is that I was able to build a solid theoretical understanding of statistics. Learning the fundamental theories and understanding the math will help you develop your thinking. That, combined with an eagerness to learn, sets you up for success in solving any problem. And who would have thought that taking a coding course would be so valuable in today’s job market?
Do you have any advice for students trying to kick-start their career after coming out of this program?
Just keep learning and building your skill set. And don’t be afraid to take some time off to think about what you want because, once you get your first job and a company that sees your value, it’s only going to go up and it’s going to go up really fast. After I finished my first internship, I didn’t have to apply for any other job, companies reached out.
What do you do outside of work, and how do you balance work with personal life?
Outside of work, I go to the gym, I paint and sew. My job can be stressful, so working out helps train my brain to think and to be focused on one thing versus being scatter-brained with all the data details of my current project.
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