Cohort 7 Student Spotlight: Meet Xu!
Xu Lian joined the MSDS program after obtaining his BS in Mathematics, with Specialty in Statistics from Boston University and his MS in Sports Business from New York University. Continue reading to learn more about how sports led him to data science!
What were you doing before joining the MSDS program?
Before joining the MSDS program, I was completing my master’s degree in Sports Business at New York University. I always wanted to work on analytics in the sports industry, but a baseball analytics competition in the Fall of 2017 made me realize I was not ready for those types of jobs. That experience ultimately made me decide to go back to the quantitative field and pursue a master’s degree in Data Science.
Why did you choose the USF MSDS program?
The practicum experience offered by the USF MSDS program is something that is unrivaled. I thought that the opportunities to work on real-world challenges alongside professionals could help me better understand what a data science job looks like before heading into the job market. In addition, I was intrigued by how USF developed data scientists. I have a friend that was in last year’s cohort, and I was fortunate enough to hear her take on this program, which made me decide this was the place to go.
What started your interest in Data Science?
Influenced by Moneyball and other literature regarding sports analytics, I was fascinated by how data science could help teams to succeed both on and off the field. As an amateur that used to play Go in Shanghai competitively, I also started getting curious about machine learning after DeepMind’s AlphaGo beat top human professional players in 2016. Always go after something that destroyed your childhood!
How would you like to apply Data Science after graduating?
I see data science as a useful tool for problem-solving. I would be happy if I could adequately use this tool to come up with something that could help my future colleagues to collaboratively make the company/organization that we work for in a better position to succeed.
Where is your practicum? What are you working on there?
My practicum is at Recology. My teammate and I are working on a project regarding accidents involving Recology’s garbage trucks. We are looking for factors that contribute to the accidents with data, then summarizing them into recommendations that could help our truck drivers avoid something unfortunate.
What do you like about the MSDS Program?
I like my classmates! Alongside the faculty and staff, these brilliant minds have made my experience at USF amazing. This is a rigorous program, and it is not for everybody. I think that without the encouragement and help from these confident, self-motivated people, I probably would not have made it to this point.
What is your favorite thing to do in San Francisco?
I am currently living in San Mateo. As a food lover and a lowly-skilled cook, I enjoy spending my Saturdays in the city’s Farmers’ Market (Btw, the new location has a killer view of the Bay Area. You can see SF, SJ, and East Bay all in one spot). Other than watching my favorite teams giving me heart attacks, I am also into reading things about design for leisure. Kinokuniya, a bookstore located in Japantown, is my go-to spot for design-related books in San Francisco.
