Tricia John - Earning a B.S. in Geology & Geophysics from the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa has given me the opportunity to comprehend the power of data analytics in the geosciences.
During my undergraduate program, I became especially interested in a GIS course that had us going out into the field to collect and visualize geological data. After graduation, I worked as a project manager in the finance sector developing and managing databases and workflow systems. While my work experience helped satisfy my quantitative nature, it lacked an important quality – I was missing 'the exploration into the unknown' that my spirit craved. I decided to take the experience I had gained in the private sector, experience that had shown me the great importance of data-informed decision-making, and further my data analysis skills in a scientific field of interest.
The M.S. in Spatial Data Science program at USC is allowing me to expand my spatial science foundation and learn relevant data analytic tools and techniques, that has put me on a trajectory that will take me into a new career. - Tricia John
