Student Spotlight

What are Data Science students up to on-campus?

There are many different ways for students to get involved with Data Science, inside and outside the classroom:

Curious about what paths other students have taken?

Below, alumnae of the Data Science department describe their capstone projects and reasons for choosing Data Science.

 

 

 

 

Miranda Miao

Class of 2021

Economics & Data Science with concentration in Financial Economics

Capstone Project

For my capstone project, I analyzed the effect of internment camp conditions on Japanese Americans’ educational outcomes. This project finds an overall negative effect of violent camp conditions on later educational attainment. It helps debunk the myth that Japanese Americans simply received more education to make up for the earning loss.

Why Data Science?

I chose to add Data Science as my second major because I feel passionate about extending the models I learned in my economic classes with more mathematical and computational rigor. For me, data science is a gateway to understanding the world around me. In an era plagued by false information and fake news, I feel compelled to search for truth using ethical and advanced methodologies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jialu (Willa) Sun

Class of 2020

Economics & Data Science with a concentration in Decision and Competitive Analysis

Capstone Project

For my Capstone project, I used machine learning tools to identify the strongest predictors for the locations of existing Chipotles. By merging a dataset on existing Chipotle locations and census data, I was able to build an algorithm to classify towns and cities as either "likely to have a Chipotle in the future" or "unlikely to have a Chipotle in the future." This study can be further extended to estimate the market capacity of Chipotle in the U.S.

Why Data Science?

"We are living in an era during which data is rapidly transforming the way information is collected, processed, and interpreted. The abundance and complexity of available data call for effective tools, both old and new, to analyze this data and draw meaningful conclusions from them. The Data Science major sits in the intersection of both theoretical and application-based statistical methods, provides a rigorous mathematical backbone for these analyses, and incorporates updated computer-focused coursework to allow better understanding and usage of data."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lien Dao

Class of 2020

Economics & Data Science with a concentration in Risk & Uncertainty

Capstone Project

In my capstone project, I discuss the application of data science in commercial banks, a project that I was working on during my past summer internship. Specifically, I explain the data analysis process that I followed to predict the probability of default for banks' clients, which ranges from cleaning and exploring data to developing a default prediction model.

Why Data Science?

I decided to pursue Data Science major after my coursework at Wellesley, which spans across Computer Science, Mathematics, and Statistics disciplines. Completing the requirements for the Data Science Major has allowed me to establish a strong foundation in all three areas, whereas each individual major by itself cannot satisfy my intellectual interest. Within the major, I concentrate on Risk and Uncertainty, a topic that I have become engaged in after taking related courses in the Economics department and especially after my summer internships in the banking and consulting industry.

 

 

 

 

 

Julia Cromwell

Class of 2020

Data Science with a concentration in Data Visualization & Communication

(Double major in Psychology)

Capstone Project

My capstone extended the work I did at my summer internship at NPR in the summer of 2019. I used web traffic data to analyze at what times of the day and week that different kinds of stories get the most pageviews on NPR's website. This was a collaboration with NPR's Engagement team, which determines when stories are posted and promoted on social media.

Why Data Science?

I chose to major in data science because I thought it was a great way to combine my previous coursework in statistics and computer science. From the major, I have learned invaluable data analysis skills that I can use in any career I pursue.