{"id":317342,"date":"2018-05-10T15:24:57","date_gmt":"2018-05-10T19:24:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=317342"},"modified":"2018-06-12T16:53:38","modified_gmt":"2018-06-12T20:53:38","slug":"anya-khalid-leap-of-faith-leads-to-data-science-studies-317342","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/anya-khalid-leap-of-faith-leads-to-data-science-studies-317342\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Leap of faith\u2019 leads to data science studies"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Three questions<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Favorite University tradition?<\/strong> \u201cYellowjacket Weekend! I always love coming back after the summer to enjoy the food trucks and carnival games with my friends. (And it\u2019s still warm out!)\u201d<\/p>\n

How will you remember your time here?<\/strong> \u201cVery fondly. I\u2019ve made lifelong friends who are passionate, motivated, and supportive. The University community has made my time here especially memorable\u2014my professors, the students I have TA\u2019ed and who have TA\u2019ed me, my coworkers at CEIS\u2014are all amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

What advice would you give to incoming students?<\/strong> \u201cSchool is so much more than just classes! You can find or create really amazing opportunities for yourself at UR that will teach you things you can\u2019t learn in class. Don\u2019t be scared to go out of your comfort zone and try new things and do everything with an open mind and the desire to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Making their mark: This is one in a series<\/a> of profiles celebrating members of Rochester\u2019s graduating class of 2018.<\/em><\/p>\n

Anya Khalid came to the University without having ever coded in her life\u2014but she was eager to get in on the ground floor of the new undergraduate major in data science.<\/p>\n

Granted, it was \u201ckind of a leap of faith,\u201d Khalid says. And never mind that women have had to fight hard to gain entry in computer-related careers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been really lucky to have parents who raised me to be very strong and to not care what other people think or say or whether they are trying to deter me,\u201d Khalid says. \u201cIt\u2019s like challenge to me; if you think I don\u2019t belong here, I\u2019m going to show you that I do and that I\u2019m really good at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now the Washington, D.C., resident is graduating with degree in economics as well, bound for Seattle and a job as a data analytics consultant for Ernst and Young.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s confident her educational and experiential opportunities at Rochester have prepared her well. Not just for the immediate job that awaits her. But also for the prospect of eventually getting an MBA and using her insights in data science to \u201creally drive a business\u201d\u2014perhaps her own.<\/p>\n

For example, Khalid\u2019s internship at Ernst and Young last summer gave her \u201creal-world\u201d experience and a chance to prove herself\u2014so well it resulted in a job offer.<\/p>\n

Her capstone project in data science involved more \u201creal-world\u201d experience\u2014not only in dealing with large data sets but also with working as part of a team. Khalid and three other students found a better way to flag potential hackers for a Rochester imaging company.<\/p>\n

She attended two of the renowned Grace Hopper annual conventions for women in computing, thanks to the Department of Computer Science\u2019s participation in the BRAID initiative. This provided Khalid with ample opportunities to network with other women in the field, to learn about new technologies, and to hear advice on how to \u201cposition yourself in the industry as a woman and become a leader.\u201d<\/p>\n

Attendance at the conventions, Khalid says, was \u201cone of the most amazing experiences of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also found time to<\/p>\n