“Redefine your metrics of success!”
Contact Information: beeee@seas.upenn.edu
Degree(s) M.S.E. in Data Science, University of Pennsylvania
Hometown: Mumbai, India
Which field of Data Science are you interested in?
Data Science (Product), Data Science for Social Good, Natural Language Processing
What drew you to study Data Science at Penn?
Through a MSE in Data Science at the University of Pennsylvania, I was looking to gain a comprehensive grasp of Data Science in a well-structured program with unmatchable rigor. The program’s flexible and interdisciplinary curriculum sealed the deal for me. I was also interested in the work done at the Computational Social Science Lab and the ongoing research in the Data Science x Social Science domain.
What are some classes that you have particularly enjoyed and why?
I enjoyed CIS 530 (Computational Linguistics) – It was my first experience with NLP, and I instantly took a liking to it. The assignments and general structure of the course pushed me out of my comfort zone, and I learned how to build NLP solutions from scratch, which was super exciting! I also found courses like CIS 520 (Machine Learning) and CIS 545 (Big Data Analytics) extremely helpful in terms of understanding Data Science concepts from start to end, and the course material covers right about everything required for a Data Science interview (especially for summer internships)
What internships have you had? If you know your post graduation plans, please include here.
I have accepted an offer from MongoDB to join their team in NYC as a Data Science intern for the summer of 2022! I also spent the previous semester as a Research Assistant at the Computational Social Science Lab working on Candidate Coverage for the Penn Media Accountability Project – an interdisciplinary, nonpartisan research project dedicated to enhancing media transparency and accountability at the scale of the entire information ecosystem. I am not sure of my post-graduation plans just yet, but I am looking to join the industry in any of the areas I mentioned above as interests.
What advice do you have for new students?
Redefine your metrics of success! Sure, grades are a good measure, and a good GPA might help you get a job, but they’re not the end. Consider working towards becoming a better person while at Penn, focus on constantly learning, form meaningful relationships with people 🙂 It often gets overwhelming, and it’s easy to lose sight of your personal goals; make sure to reach out when you require help – I found the people here to be very helpful and speaking to others always gave me a good perspective.
What classes have you taken?
CIS 530, CIS 520, ESE 542, CIS 522, CIS 545, CIS 523
Share a little bit about yourself.
Apart from being a passionate data nerd, I love dancing – recently have been doing salsa a lot. I enjoy meeting people, taking long walks around the city, and just about anything art/crafts related 🙂 Working on my campfire guitar skills keeps me busy if I’m not re watching my favorite tv shows on most days!
Â