Hometown: San Jose, CA
Double Major: Public Health & Data Science
Domain Emphasis: Human and Population Health
Data Science in Six Words: powerful, result-oriented, curiosity, meaningful, unifying, storytelling
Melissa arrived at Berkeley with a drive to leverage technology and promote social good. As a UNICEF National Council Representative in high school, she had seen both the enormous need and the potential for positive change around the world. “I was interested in technology as an avenue to empower vulnerable communities,” she said.
On the path to majoring in public health, Melissa found her way to Data 8. A course dataset about maternal and child health in Bangladesh highlighted the power of using data science to understand and tackle public health problems. She decided to delve deeper by joining the Data Scholars program. “It can be hard to find a community as a STEM major,” she said.
With Data Scholars, I was really able to find my niche because I felt so accepted and welcomed.
“With Data Scholars, I was really able to find my niche because I felt so accepted and welcomed. We were all learning from each other and I felt like I had something to contribute. I was able to feel valid and confident in my own data analysis abilities.”
In addition to participating in Data Scholars, Melissa has helped to create data science curricula for a module on energy and environmental decision-making, and worked with a start-up that matches veterans with fellowships.
She has just accepted a position as an advanced application engineer at Accenture, where she will continue to explore technological innovations to real-world challenges.