Tufts University School of Engineering

Personal Statement

My pivot point for choosing to pursue data analytics came last April when my team competed at
the University of Chicago Econometrics Games. Like a Hackathon for young econometricians,
the games pitted students of economics from Cambridge to Santa Clara. The objective was to
stage, and answer, a question of economic importance within fourteen hours. Having learned a
handful of research techniques under Dr. Aditi Thapar in the Research Seminar in Quantitative
Economics (RSQE), I was nervous and excited for the opportunity to test my applied
econometrics knowledge for the first time.

My team was comprised of myself and three of my undergraduate coworkers from the RSQE.
Through efficient division of labor and a good-humored attitude, my team persevered to
implement an instrumental variable technique that isolated a strong causal relationship between
Chinese import competition and U.S. unionization rates. This polished and technical analysis
earned us second place out of fifteen teams. I relished the application of my statistical and
programming knowledge, but felt I had only brushed the surface of creative possibilities granted
by these mediums. In the following months, a newfound passion for data analytics would begin
to shape my career ambitions.

One could argue that the field of data analytics has developed over a period of decades. Since the
first notion of statistical ideology in the 1700s, and computer science in the 1940s, it was only a
matter of time before these two fields intertwined. Increasingly prevalent in the private sector,
one domain still underutilized by data analytics is policymaking. In graduate school I plan to
work toward developing computational methods for optimizing public policy. I plan to develop
domain expertise in areas most conducive to this task, such as machine-learning, big data
analytics, and advanced regression analysis. Nonetheless, I also look forward to gaining a
breadth of knowledge in various techniques in order to analyze complex problems from an
interdisciplinary perspective.

After my revelation at the econometrics competition, I began registering for programming

coursework and became competent in ​Python and C++. For a project in my first computer
science course, I constructed a machine-learning algorithm in Python that generated new songs
based on text and midi files scraped from the internet. As an assistant in fiscal and monetary
policy research, I requested more difficult coding assignments to master R and Stata. When the
opportunity arose, I also secured a second job as a data visualization consultant. In this role I
have expanded my understanding of Python and R, worked collaboratively with a team and
domain specialists, and improved my storytelling capabilities through data visualization. I
believe these skills will strengthen my performance in future coursework such as DATA 220:
Communicating with Data and DATA 202A: Introduction to Data Visualization with Tableau.
 Tufts University School of Engineering
Personal Statement

In addition to striving for academic success, I am driven by an intense curiosity to understand

computational methods that may be used to discern best-practice government policy. In my
honors thesis I employ statistical analysis to measure the effect of a policy instituted by the
World Trade Organization; the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
Agreement endeavors to enforce intellectual property rights (IPR) adherence worldwide. I found
this policy had a small, positive effect on IPR adherence. This ongoing experience has not only
taught me how to effectively pose and answer my own research questions, but also how to
defend these findings by incorporating controls, a false experiment, and event study.

Apart from my rigorous academic and research endeavors, I’ve also pursued many enriching
global experiences. After navigating Beijing as a Department of State Gilman Scholar, interning
at the Ministry of Economic Development in Albania, representing America at an international
taekwondo competition in South Korea, and using French or Mandarin to find my way around
far-away places, my favorite memories were when I connected with individuals from drastically
different upbringings. Furthermore, my long-term stints abroad have increased my resiliency and
flexibility. When confronted with a frozen bank account, a cancelled flight, or housing plans that
fell through, I’ve learned how to make on-the-fly adjustments in order to protect myself as a solo
female traveler. Finally, serving as head instructor for the University of Michigan Tae Kwon Do
Club has increased my confidence, given me practice in public speaking, and improved my
ability to easily connect with new faces. For all of these reasons, I’m confident that I will achieve
academic success at Tufts University.

The Master of Science in Data Analytics program offered by Tufts compliments my intellectual
curiosities extremely well. For example, I am excited to pair my passion for economic
development and quantitative method in MATH 164: The Mathematics of Poverty and
Inequality. I look forward to studying under the tutelage of renowned scholars such as Dr. Susan
Landau (policy and computer science), Dr. Jenny Aker (development economics), and Dr. Anna
Hardman (international migration). Lastly, classes such as DATA 200, DATA 201A and DATA
201B will grant me the tools to solve complex problems with cutting-edge technologies. For all
of these reasons, the M.S. Data Analytics program at Tufts is the best possible opportunity for
my postgraduate education.

Throughout college, my favorite experiences have been working at the intersection of statistical
and computational methods to explain real-world phenomena. For this reason there is not a field
more fascinating to me than data analytics. Upon graduation from Tufts University I will be an
advocate for a fact-based and data-driven approach in the public sector. Furthermore, I am
confident that I can contribute to the Tufts community through directed effort and a constant
strive to always do better.