Growing up in Minnesota, Emily was the kid who loved computer class more than gym class - something that, at the time, made her feel a little embarrassed, since most of her classmates felt the opposite way! Looking back, she’s proud to call herself a “nerd,” because that early love of maths and computers shaped her whole career.
Emily took advantage of a programme that let her start university courses while still in high school, which meant she’d already completed two years of her degree by the time she graduated. She went on to study Statistics, paired with a minor in Data Science, which is where she discovered her love of coding. An internship gave her real-world experience using a programming language called Python, and she graduated with top honours, even being inducted into national mathematics and statistics academic societies.
“The thing that makes you “the odd one out” at school might just be the thing that leads you to a career you love.”
Today, Emily works as an Associate Data Scientist at DTN, where she analyses weather data to help businesses prepare for storms - combining her fascination with weather and her love of working with numbers.
One challenge Emily had to work through was learning to ask for help. She was used to solving problems on her own, and asking questions sometimes felt like admitting failure. Over time, she realised that asking for support helps you learn faster - and that “failing fast” and moving on is often better than struggling alone for too long.