How Kindergarten Prepared Me to be One of Many #UdacityTechScholars

When I received an email from Udacity congratulating me for being accepted into phase two of the data track, I was elated. By the same token, I was a little panicked because when I didn’t get accepted into the first phase, I set up my calendar to focus on other tasks. So, my schedule was completely packed and I didn’t know if I could participate. But this was a scholarship to training that people all across the globe are seeking and paying large sums to boot camps to get this specialised training. I could not pass up this opportunity. In the end, I resolved that I could do this.

As it turns out, I already had everything I needed in my tool kit to be successful. In fact, I learned it when I was just a little girl! Robert Fulghum in his famous book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, says:

ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sandpile at Sunday School… Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living. Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or your government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all — the whole world — had cookies and milk about three o’clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.

So be it! I decided to explore how all of the elementary rules I learned helped me succeed as a data science scholar. These are the simple things I learned that I still carry with me today.

Share everything.

This simple principle may seem to apply to only grade school children learning to share blocks. But in reality, it applies to the scholarship challenge because the entire course is about knowledge sharing. When we share our understanding and questions and resources, we all come out better for it. Sharing alone helps me in the Slack community where Udacity scholarship participants share knowledge every day. I feel good participating is such a dynamic group and I’ve learned more than I could ever have hoped to learn on my own. This is the power of Udacity!

Play fair.

Earnestly work through the challenges. The content is not simple. We cover everything from descriptive statistics, to SQL and Python programming. Playing fair in this program means not cheating yourself by trying to skip through the lessons. The goal is to finish 100% of the course content in time, which as a phase two participant means that I only have one month and a half to get through all of the topics. It’s tempting to click through everything and just say, “I’m done” in hopes to getting to the next level: the coveted acceptance to the nanodegree. But that would only be cheating myself. Playing fair translates to really working through the content and exploring as many of the resources that my fellow Udacians recommend so that I walk away with a solid understanding of the material so that if I do get a much sought after seat in the nanodegree program, I will have a strong foundation to prepare me for success in the program and ultimately prepare me to become a business analyst.

Don’t hit people.

In our virtual world, there is no risk of physical harm. Yet, since the data track is a virtual program there is a risk of cyber bullying. So just like in life how we have to keep our hands to ourselves, (as I often find myself reminding my toddler son), we also have to mind our words — and emojis!

Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.

Since this is a global community, and sometimes written words can be taken out of context, if we do find that we have offended someone, it’s a really good idea to apologize. I want to make sure I take good care of your peers. In a global work group there may be misunderstands but sorry will go a very long way. Plus, these will become my friends and colleagues as I attempt to take the world of data by storm.

Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

Everyone deserves a little brake. Even me. My mother used to always say that old phrase: all work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy. I certainly don’t want to live a dull life. That’s why I voluntarily signed up for this program! Sometimes I get so pulled into the challenge and trying to read the comments and slack and help where I can that I do forget to stop. But thankfully, my toddler son reminds me just when it’s time to stop and play “choo choo” train in the living room. And I suddenly remember why I am working so very hard in the first place!

Live a balanced life — learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

We are more than data enthusiasts. I am a mother, a full time worker at a Fortune 500 company, a student in pursuit of my bachelors degree in Healthcare Management, a Lean Six Sigma practitioner in pursuit of my green belt, a sister, a friend, a wife, an essayist, San Diego chapter leader of Viz for Social Good and on and on and on… I have to make room for all of it so I can show up as my authentic self everyday. Sometimes I think that if I do not work day and night on the scholarship program that I won’t finish. But there is something honorable in just trying. And these skills I’m learning on the data track all feed into what I am really trying to accomplish. As a data enthusiast, I will be more impactful in the workplace and as a Lean Six Sigma practitioner. So to stay true to this rule, I try to stick very close to my study schedule and remind myself that I’ve made great progress already.

Take a nap every afternoon.

The goal of the program is to learn not to get burnt out from learning. I can’t always do this during this week because I am at work but on the weekends I march right into the room behind my toddler son so that we can get in our family nap. It is incredible how refreshed I wake up feeling. The days I take a nap, I definitely get more done, especially during my Udacity study times. Resting makes me more effective; even when I “don’t wanna”.

When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.

Being a part of this challenge mostly makes me think about the future. I’ve already made some incredible connections that I will be holding onto for a long time to come. In the challenge course, one of my peers even started a spreadsheet so that we can share LinkedIn profile information to stay in touch and collaborate outside of the Slack community where we currently work. This will be so important; not just for networking but also to support each other through the challenges of a competitive data landscape that we are all about to pursue. This challenge has mostly taught me that I don’t have to go at it alone and that is beyond reassuring.

Wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Never stop asking why and exploring your world through data. That is probably the biggest take-away I have from the data challenge course.

The course just started for me but it is also very close to ending. My experience has been wonderful as I push myself beyond what I believe my limits are. Thank heavens that kindergarten prepared me because I am hopeful that the nano degree is within my grasp. Wish me luck!

Charlene Rossell Mitchell, San Diego Chapter Leader of Viz for Social Good, invites you to join the conversation with other data enthusiasts: Data with a Soul.