DISCOVERING A LOVE OF DATA –– How did you get interested in technology?
–– What prompted you to co-found Data Mishaps Night? Years ago, I met Caitlin Hudon, Principal Data Scientist at OnlineMedEd, at an RLadies Austin meetup. We share a love for family, data, hiking, and tacos. During the pandemic, we discussed missing the ability to attend meetups and share stories with other data professionals. Caitlin had given a talk at the 2019 RStudio Conference about the lessons she’s learned from her decade of data science work and the mistakes she encountered along the way. I was in the audience cheering on my friend, and it was amazing to see how much her stories resonated
I became interested in technology by mere happenstance. My parents were both teachers, and, growing up, I had planned on being a teacher, ideally in math and science. I was required to complete a college undergraduate degree before applying to teachers’ college. In my senior year of secondary school, I took my first computer science course. I enjoyed the course, but even more importantly, I was encouraged, in that class, to pursue the field. My teacher explained that the field was growing quickly and that even if I were going to be a teacher, it would be an excellent
with the community. Caitlin believes that sharing mistakes helps everyone fend off impostor syndrome and discover pitfalls before they happen. I fully agree. When I first started in the data field, I distinctly remember how fearful
specialty field. At the end of the course, I received a computer science award. With that extra boost of confidence, I decided to give it a go for my undergrad. I received my Bachelor of Engineering degree with a specialty in software engineering from the University of Western Ontario in Canada.
Understanding how to leverage data is essentially like developing a superpower that allows you to extract insights at a scale that humans aren’t effectively designed to do. “
I was about making a mistake. Making a mistake with data is
–– How did you get started in your data science journey?
especially terrifying because you can inadvertently give people incorrect information. Data often fails silently, presenting itself as truth when, in fact, it is not.
I’ve been working in the data field for over fifteen years. However, it wasn’t until I started focusing on analysis that I realized the power of data. Understanding how to leverage data is essentially like developing a superpower that allows you to extract insights at a scale that humans aren’t effectively designed to do. I functioned as a lonely data analyst for several years before the big data boom hit. I distinctly remember taking a one- year maternity leave in Canada and coming back to a buzz snowballing around the data field. Suddenly, the job that I’d held as a lonely data analyst was exciting to people. Teams were looking to staff up with data professionals, specifically data scientists. I had an opportunity to try my hand at data science. I quickly learned that I lacked the necessary statistical knowledge and thus began my Master in Predictive Analytics at Northwestern University.
We launched Data Mishaps Night in 2021. We had sixteen presenters and over 250 attendees participate in a magical night of shared data mistakes and learnings. It was such a wonderful experience that we decided to make it a yearly event. In 2022, Hilary Mason, Co-Founder of the Hidden Door, kindly agreed to kick off the evening with a keynote full of her data mistakes and lessons learned. We followed with twelve speakers and opportunities for audience participation. It was another great night reaching over 350 attendees. We’re grateful that the event has received such a warm welcome, and we look forward to next year.
Taking the Next Steps in Data and Discovery | 25
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