You are one of Gatton's first business analytics minor students. Is this correct? What attracted you to the program?
Yes, I was! I was always interested in analytics, but I never knew how to get into it in high school and was not ready to commit to it as a major. After taking my first analytics class I saw I had a real knack for it! I got excited and decided to look into it as a minor. After reading the course plan it was everything I could have needed to give myself a headstart in whatever field I decided to go into. The rest was history, I have had three different jobs based around my analytics knowledge since.
Do you have any career advice for current students or recent graduates?
Get involved! No matter what it is or where. Gaining experiences you can later use to elaborate your skillset to employers is pivotal to stand out among other applicants. Bonus points if it is on campus, people have so much school spirit after they graduate and it is a great conversation starter.
What is one of the most interesting things you've learned in the program?
One of the most interesting things I learned in the analytics program at UK was that there are a million different ways to do one thing. This brought in a creative aspect to analytics that I once did not acknowledge. It made things more interesting and kept me more involved knowing that there could be multiple right answers to a problem.
Tell us about your new role with your company?
After graduation, I accepted a role at Procter and Gamble in purchasing. P&G's main focus is putting you to real work on day 1 and that is exactly what they did. My role has a heavy focus in analytics and the analytics coursework I took while getting my minor absolutely changed the game for me when it came to me being able to understand analytics projects and deliver accurate results. I am really enjoying my role here and I'm excited to see what more innovation I will bring to the company.
What did you enjoy most about your time at Gatton?
I mostly enjoyed the camaraderie among my classmates. Taking a hard class is so much easier when you have people you can talk about the content with or even just to complain to about staying up late studying. I built relationships with people who I would have most likely not crossed paths with outside of class.
