2017–02–13
For the past year, I have been involved in all the behind the scenes action of the iidata Data Science Convention. My involvement was exhaustive and exhausting, but it was worth every moment. Since my time with iidata, we have put on two successful Data Science conventions. I am proud of the entire iidata Team for their contributions to these grand events. Without them, my year of iidata would not have been the dream come true it was.
iidata
The iidata Data Science Convention was founded to make material that traditional college majors like Computer Science and Statistics do not offer accessible to ambitious students. I remember first imagining the convention with my friends on a whiteboard as a simple fantasy. We thought that it could be possible for us to make an event to inspire students to learn and practice Data Science skills. That evening, I prepared a short document declaring our communal hopes about what the convention would be. I remember the drive I felt, ready to take on a project for the first time in my college career. I was excited to make an impact on education and do something great with my peers. Luckily for me, this excitement never wallowed.
That isn’t to say my energy didn’t. Planning the convention swallowed me from all sides of my life having taken on a high-responsibility role in iidata 2016 and having become the Operations Executive for 2017. (Our bureaucracy changed from 2016 to 2017, so if I could name myself anything for 2016, I was probably Carmen’s shadow.) Although I plan to extract details from both years in this blog, I plan on focusing on iidata 2017 which was my iidata prime.
Each of my weeks throughout the planning of iidata 2017 was varied with group meetings, plenty of emailing, and at least 15 hours of extra iidata work on top of that. My waking moments were less about school and more about making sure that the convention’s logistics and finances were settled. (This is not what I would ever suggest for a student, by the way. My GPA suffered a little in 2017, but a lot in planning for iidata 2016.) I could ramble on about how iidata took away all my time, but I cannot denounce all the great things it has brought me.
There were so many pivotal people who made my role as Operations Executive easier. No matter the stress I became accustomed to, the future was exciting knowing who I had by my side. Those whom I have met and collaborated with are all certainly dear to my heart, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
lai i “carmen” lei: my hero
I met Carmen Lei on a whim in October 2015, and it seems that since then, we have been working on project to project together. When the idea of iidata (then in 2015 known as “StatFest”) came about, Carmen was ready to plan. Although she was busy completing two majors in school, she was willing to flip her whole life into making the convention work. And that it did. The iidata 2016 Convention was brilliant under her direction, despite any financial issues. The 2016 Convention was put on by one-fifth of the 2017 Convention’s budget. Working closely with her on the project, I never felt afraid of uncertainty because she was brave for iidata and for me.
There is no one I missed more working through all of the iidata 2017 planning. In 2016, Carmen Lei was my rock, and all I ever wanted to do was emulate her capacity to be on top of everything in my new role as Operations Executive in 2017. Carmen never made excuses, no matter how unstable our project seemed. When it came to figuring out how to navigate our financial and logistical issues, Carmen always found a seamless and efficient plan, even when we were gravely in debt. In 2016, we had a difficult time finding funding and were only able to sack about $700 from outside sources. It’s unbelievable we were able to put on a convention at all.
I remember in class she would write on a sticky note all the things she had to do. She would be stressed, but she never faltered. The passion in her heart and the strength in her stance will always be what I remember her for. And what came out of this work relationship is now a beautiful friendship that I am so incredibly thankful for.
Here is a list of the ambitious people Carmen led.
iidata 2016 Team Members: Carmen Lei, Cynthia Lai, Graham Smith, Winnie Yiu, Patrick Vacek, Katie Truong, Sam Tsoi, Saman Tabatabaii, Daniel Iong, David Huang, Christopher Wong, Jerry Chen, Regina Chan, Jiaping Zhang, Simeng Shao, Sharon Zhang, Yuji Mori, Rei Mitsudome, Micaela Ideker, Brandon Straughan, Crystal Li, Diana Moua, Margaret Wu, Lam Vu, Vignesh Venkatesan
cindy lai and the outward prospect
Cindy, like Carmen, is one of iidata’s cofounders. Her love for Data Science showed each time she gave a speech; you could tell by the twinkle in her eye. Her bubbly countenance and willingness to spread good news left me no surprise when she did an excellent job in the role of Public Relations Executive in 2017.
Cindy worked with two teams, Design and Publicity.
The Design Team was made up of Betty Zhou, Cynthia Chong, and Sonia Gupta. Betty created much of our look and feel as designer. She put a lot of thought into how she wanted to market us, and her designs were gorgeous. I’m so proud of the designs she created, and I feel like what she did really ended up fitting what we wanted to be: fresh, fun, but also a bit geeky.
Cynthia made it her responsibility to take our head shots, which came out beautifully. She never hesitated to give feedback, always making something beautiful into something that is truly art. Sonia, although she was unsure at first, showed us the hard work she could do even while conquering her first upper division Computer Science classes. I don’t know anything more mighty than that. I have so much gratitude for these women to have put their time and their hearts into this work. Being designers, they were never ignorant as to what they were designing for. I hope that Betty can pursue making beautiful infographics, that Cynthia take more photos to her heart’s content, and that Sonia finds balance in art and science.
Under Cindy’s supervision was also the Publicity team, made up of Janet, Rei, Shrimathi, and Dhanya. Janet’s efforts were outstanding; she had emailed so many contacts trying to extend our reach. I almost gawked at how long the contact list was. Throughout the whole planning process, Janet always knew how to make others smile. Her positivity never failed to light up the room during meetings.
Rei, my MC and one of my iidata 2016 veterans, returned to work with us again in iidata 2017. I was ecstatic to hear that he wanted to come back on the team. He too was incredible. The way Rei is able to move an audience with words and confidence, I find is inspiring. I hope to one day be more like him, and I am grateful to have met someone like him. It’s not everyday.
I was lucky to be able to spend time tabling with Dhanya and Shrimathi. Dhanya is a funny and supportive woman. She stands up for what’s right and is not afraid to call out what is wrong. Shrimathi is a sweet and strong woman who dreams big. I realized, sitting there at the Memorial Union, that the people who I’ve interviewed really turned out to be some of the best choices I have ever made. The Publicity and Design team were truly forces of greatness, and I am so proud of the work they did with Cindy. I don’t think iidata has ever looked better.
To Cindy I send my best wishes for the year to come. There is no doubt in my soul that her passion will be enough to keep iidata afloat. I hope she has an easier time with less horrific surprises than Carmen and I did, and I hope she has a team she can be ultimately proud of like I have had. I cannot wait to see what iidata 2018 will be like, and I know that I will always be ready to advise her when she’s not sure of the way. I’m glad that I get to pass down my role, the role that was passed to me by Carmen, to Cindy. I think with the right weather and all the right spirits, 2018 will be great under her guidance. I truly hope her sunshine among all the struggles to come.
graham smith: a heartbeat sound
Graham Smith was but a stranger who walked into a Statistics Club meeting once. He sat in the back, dress shirt, brown pants, curly hair, and all. He was there when Cindy and I started drafting ideas about StatFest, and I then didn’t realize how important he was to me. I do now.
I admit but am not proud to say Graham was that character who was always there and helped make pivotal decisions yet was never appreciated enough. But here’s to appreciating Graham, without whom I wouldn’t have felt like I could do something like iidata.
I stayed up really late working on plans for StatFest right after we had finished talking about our dreams for it. He told me that night that he had never been in a club in which he was interested in doing anything with. After I wrote and wrote, I emailed my plans to Cindy and Graham, and Graham said that I had proven the idea that no one could get anything done at 5 A.M. untrue. He gave me confidence that the ideas I had formalized in the document were good. He gave me confidence to share it with others, and I couldn’t be more indebted to the support he has shown me.
Graham’s support and opinion has been indispensable to me over and over again. He was a constant figure for me, someone who was wiser than me, and someone who I wish I didn’t forget to thank on February 4th. I’m so glad to call you my friend.
sponsorship and finance
Out of all the branches in the iidata Team, I spent most of my time with the Finance and Sponsorship Teams, the two branches under David Fung’s supervision. I am really glad that I was able to get to know these teams really well.
The Finance Team was Darren Huang, Tiffany Chen, Un Leong, and Sarah Dang, and the Sponsorship Team was Caroline Mai, Will Ju, and Dhanya Chandrasekhar, although everyone knows that Finance and Sponsorship were really one united team.
For the majority of the time planning iidata, Sponsorship and Finance were met with disappointment. They filled out so many applications and sent out hundreds of emails looking for finance sources outside of school. Months of work brought them no avail, and it really hurt me to watch that happen. What I found to be unbelievable is that these teams didn’t give up. Their persistence is something I will always remember when faced with difficulty.
Tiffany and Un, my favorite duo, thank you for finding so many people to support us at the convention. No matter how insanely tired you were, you always stayed responsible for your positions. Dhanya, I will say this again, your will for self-improvement motivates mine.
Sarah, Caroline, and Will — I’m so glad that I was able to find you all later in the game. There were dropouts from the team from those who were not able to keep on fighting for iidata. Having been in the org not as long as the others, I never felt like you were ever outpaced, and I never doubted that you cared.
Darren, thank you for doing this for me. I know that Data Science was not your thing and being part of this organization was more stressful than you had imagined, but I really hope that you found light in the learning process. I’m really glad that after high school, we were able to meet again, and I’m really grateful for all you have done.
Thank you, Sponsorship and Finance for keeping it together when I’m sure I wouldn’t have been able to.
weekly with phoebe zhang
I wasn’t sure if I wanted or needed a Shadow. I didn’t think there was anything I could really benefit from either. Would my shadow sit and watch as I flickered through my computer screen? Would my shadow have patience with me when I followed my thoughts without speaking? I decided that I would just give Phoebe a chance. A shadow couldn’t hurt.
I was surprised when Phoebe showed me her determination to understand the inner happenings of the convention. At first, she was completely confused at me flinging from screen to screen on my laptop, but she caught on quickly, and soon she was doing it too. After weeks of three three-hour meetings, her communication skills became off the charts, and I’m so proud of that. When I first interviewed her, Phoebe was meek, but became strong voiced and shared her opinions with me. She started doing things I didn’t ask her to do, like check the websites I frequented for updates. It was comforting knowing she too was thinking about iidata all the time.
I’m really glad that of all people my shadow was Phoebe. While she may have learned from me, from her I learned more. She showed me peace in much disarray, and she kept my eyes open always. I hope her the best of luck as she continues on in iidata 2018 with Cindy, and I want her to know I will always be there for her. Always.
patrick vacek and the games
The Competitions Team was all sorts of beautiful. Watching the team blend together as it did made me incredibly glad. I loved their being together and it taught me how important building a well-coordinated team was, period. The competitions team was made of Rachel Lee, Kumud Ravisankaran, Gabriel Lee, and Graham Smith.
There are so many things Rachel has taught me, but one thing that I will never forget is the meaning of woman power. Rachel is a light in the dark to so many, and I always looked forward to her enthusiastic posts in our Slack #general because no one other executives normally posted in general. It just made me feel like she saw iidata like family.
Kumud is also a great woman. She told me how her interests were switching more closely aligned with Data Science, and it made me happy to see her grow with the team. Alongside Rachel, Kumud taught a Beginner’s R Workshop, and the clarity with which they both taught was appreciated by all their students. She also taught me a lot of love, even if she is younger than me by years.
After the convention, Gabriel left a great message on our Slack. It warmed my heart, just as he did throughout the entire iidata experience. He was always busy out of his mind, but made time to sit in on meetings regardless of his classes. He set up one of our competitions’ leaderboard and totally went out of his way to help in countless other ways.
My friend Patrick Vacek led the Competitions Team. He led with skill and strategy and patience, but above all he kept the work environment positive with his members. Because Patrick was the Competitions Executive at iidata, I never had to worry about anything being incomplete. Patrick is thorough, and above all, showed respect to everyone. I’m so glad that I knew I could always trust him to do everything in his capability to do a high quality job. Patrick made the iidata Convention so much more by introducing wonderful and challenging datasets to the public. His talents are so rare, and I’m proud of him for becoming all he is today. I cannot believe he has not been coding his whole life because Patrick is the best R programmer I know.
Winners from the Timed Analysis Competition and Patrick on the very right.
david fung
David Fung was my rock this year.
Whenever I was worried, he was able to ease me. Whenever I wasn’t sure, he seemed much more sure than I was. He thought of everything, and I didn’t have to tell him exactly what to do around every corner. I was so lucky to have someone that intelligent to rely on all the time. He would go running from place to place to make purchases when I didn’t even know, and his foresight was everything I needed to remain sane.
Whenever I was scared, he saw me through it. He didn’t know, but I was beyond scared to go to a lot of meetings without him, but he made me feel comfortable as a familiar face I trusted.
That’s why when Fung didn’t return to school for Winter Quarter for a few days, I went crazy. I was so scared that I had done something to someone who I really trusted. Many don’t know this, but I sprung the position of Financial Operations Executive on him without much of his consent. I wasn’t sure what happened to him, but knowing what did worried me even more. He assures me that nothing bad happened, but nothing could possibly limit my worry for a friend like Fung.
I couldn’t thank him more for all he’s done. I’m going to miss spending all the time we did together in months to come, and every little thing he did was always more than appreciated. I was so incredibly lucky to have Fung by my side in this experience.
my concessions
From the beginning, I knew what the convention should have been like. I knew when things should be done by, and I knew what goals we needed to accomplish. But I never have led a group of people like this. I never led a group of such intelligent individuals. The experience was humbling, but also extremely scary.
Albeit I did an enormous amount of work in iidata 2016, my job was never relaying information where it needed to be. Carmen did all of that and sometimes on my shyer behalf.
I always felt as though I didn’t want to waste my members time — that was my priority. I was scared of all the smart people looking at me for guidance because little did they know I was an impostor — I needed them way more than they needed me.
The two “i” letters in iidata comes from the Statistics concept “independent and identically distributed”. When I think of “iid”, I think of how each of my team members, my teammates, are a selection from the same sort of background, the same school of thought. My team and I are all of the same crop, one people, and one family that found each other because of a small, funny fantasy.
iidata 2017 Team Members: Cindy Lai, Patrick Vacek, David Fung, Phoebe Zhang, Rei Mitsudome, Will Ju, Tiffany Chen, Un Leong, Caroline Mai, Sarah Dang, Dhanya Chandrasekhar, Janet Loyola, Shrimathi Vetrivelan, Kumud Ravisankaran, Gabriel Lee, Rachel Lee, Cynthia Chong, Betty Zhou, Darren Huang
I’m not afraid to use the “L” word. I love you all.
