About
Jasmine (CDS MS'24) holds an undergraduate degree in Business with concentration in Marketing and Business Analytics. She says her knack for number crunching and logical problem solving naturally led me towards a data-driven career. Throughout her three+ years of professional experience, she honed her technical skills through side projects and on-the-job learning, progressing from a Business Intelligence Analyst to a Data Scientist. Her most recent position was with a nonprofit healthcare organization focused on enhancing care quality while reducing financial burdens for patients. There, she led the data-driven efforts related to a nationwide health risk adjustment model and post acute care. Jasmine also engineered ETL pipelines for the data warehouse that powers our analytics and reporting suite.
What drew you to the MSDS program at the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences?
I am particularly drawn to the MSDS program at BU CDS because of its comprehensive yet flexible curriculum, which allows me to select courses aligned with my skills and goals. A key objective of mine is to deepen my understanding of the underlying algorithms that power different data science techniques, and I like that BU CDS offers courses highlighting the foundational mathematics and statistics. Additionally, the reputable faculty, along with abundant hands-on project experiences offered through BU Spark! and collaborations with industry partners, further solidified my decision to join BU CDS. Lastly, Boston’s vibrant tech hub offers a lot of opportunities to connect with and learn from other data professionals.
How did you become interested in data science? What excites you about data science?
My pursuit of data science came from my fascination with deriving actionable insights from unstructured data to tackle real-world problems. While I have always had a proclivity for quantitative work, what ultimately drives me is the idea of making meaningful and sustainable impacts. Data science is where my skills and passion blend perfectly together. During my past experience, I've leveraged data science to inform strategic business decisions and address issues such as racial disparities and population health outcomes.
What areas of data science are you most interested in?
I consider myself a generalist because I’m more purpose-driven than method-driven. What I like most about data science is its ability to turn raw data into meaningful decisions. This can manifest in various forms, from a daily refreshed dashboard that detects anomalies in a recruiting pipeline, to a comprehensive analysis that exposes racial disparities, or a machine learning model that predicts green energy production based on weather conditions. Being a generalist also helps me stay open-minded and adaptable to the ever changing technology landscape. So while I am still exploring the specific track I want to pursue professionally in the long term, I’ve enjoyed every aspect of data science I encountered thus far.
What advice would you give to prospective students interested in an MSDS program?
Data science is a rapidly evolving field, so stay curious and be proactive in your learning. At the same time, know your goals well and believe in yourself. A graduate program is both challenging and rewarding. Understanding what you are working towards and staying persistent will provide a clear anchor throughout your journey.
What are your goals post-graduation?
I want to continue leveraging data science for good causes. Healthcare was my main focus before, but my time at BU has also inspired me to support environmental and sustainability efforts, as well as help individuals and companies understand and use artificial intelligence ethically and responsibly.
Fun or interesting facts about you.
I’m a generalist both inside and outside of work. I have a wide range of interests and I love learning/trying new things. My most recent venture was roller skating. My friends said I looked like I was walking in slow motion, but not falling or losing any teeth is my biggest achievement so far!
