Four months into their eight-month practicum projects, students in NC State’s Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) Class of 2022 are deep in the throes of data analysis, applying the techniques they are concurrently learning in the classroom to solve their sponsors’ business problems. This month, they are delivering midpoint presentations to both the Institute faculty and their sponsoring organizations.
We’d like you to meet the Primrose Schools practicum team. Based in Atlanta, Primrose Schools is the U.S. leader in providing premier early education and childcare, with 450 schools in 32 states. The MSA team is analyzing over 10 years of historical student and school data to predict student retention and recommend actionable insights.
“This has been such a fun, creative process!” said Chad Covin, team lead. “Our team does a great job of critically approaching the problem and applying all of our expertise to come to a solution. As a team with a diverse set of disciplines and backgrounds, we have learned so much from each other. I am so excited for us to continue to grow together as data professionals!”
Chad Kwiwon Covin
Where he calls home: North Plainfield, NJ
Before the MSA program: I completed my undergraduate degree in applied mathematics from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2019, then worked for two years in Quality Assurance at Infosys.
Favorite data science tool/technique/topic thus far: My favorite data science topics have been time series and forecasting. I’ve loved learning about the different types of models that can be ensembled to get the most accurate forecast.
Favorite thing to do outside of class: Recording music, meditation, and watching my Knicks and Tar Heels!
Sam Gasell
Where he calls home: Holly Springs, NC
Before the MSA program: I earned bachelor’s degrees in statistics and applied mathematics from NC State in 2021. I interned in baseball operations with the Holly Springs Salamanders and in baseball analytics with SportsForce Recruiting.
Favorite data science tool/technique/topic thus far: I found some of the advanced machine learning models like gradient boosting and neural networks fascinating, and I’m looking forward to applying them to our practicum data.
Favorite thing to do outside of class: Attending as many NC State athletic events as I can!
Anna Glazyrina
Where she calls home: Polevskoy, Russia
Before the MSA program: I completed a dual bachelor’s degree in economics and finance from Moscow’s Higher School of Economics and the University of London, and worked in data analytics at Yandex.Market for over two years.
Favorite data science tool/technique/topic thus far: I have really enjoyed learning about text analytics and applying my newfound skills to analyze TV show transcripts.
Favorite thing to do outside of class: Spending time with friends, going on walks, aerial gymnastics.
Gagan Namburi
Where he calls home: Cream Ridge, NJ
Before the MSA program: I earned an undergraduate degree in bioinformatics from Ramapo College of New Jersey in 2020. I then spent a year in a data science co-op/contractor role with Church & Dwight.
Favorite data science tool/technique/topic thus far: I have been enjoying learning about machine learning methods, especially the elusive neural network. I especially have been enjoying programming these methods efficiently so that more time can be spent on producing and examining meaningful insights from data instead of waiting for code to run.
Favorite thing to do outside of class: Hitting new PRs at the gym and cooking delicious meals I have not had a chance to try before!
Craig Schmier
Where he calls home: Old Bethpage, NY
Before the MSA program: I completed bachelor’s degrees in film, television, and theatre as well as applied and computational mathematics and statistics from the University of Notre Dame in 2018. I worked for three years as an analyst, first for National CineMedia and then for Whip Media Group.
Favorite data science tool/technique/topic thus far: I’ve been especially interested in the two time series courses we’ve taken. I enjoyed forecasting predictions outside our data range and assessing how well our model performed.
Favorite thing to do outside of class: Gardening and tennis in warm weather, television and making my own game shows in cold weather!