Kelsey Campbell
Gayta Science
Washington, DC USA
"Live your truth. There are so many different ways you can live, but you’re not going to be happy unless you’re being yourself."
Career Roadmap
Kelsey's work combines: Numbers, Technology, and Communicating / Sharing Stories
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Take a free introductory online coding (Python or R) and statistics class. Find an interesting dataset online (github and kaggle are good sources) and explore it. Think of interesting questions you have that the data can speak to and try to create summarizations, statistical tests / models, and visualizations that answer your questions. Follow conversations on Twitter or other social platforms of those who you admire in the field.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Economics, General
Purdue University
Graduate Degree
Analytics
North Carolina State University
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
As a child, I went from living in a more open-minded community in Canada to living in a very small town in Indiana—it was a difficult transition for me as a young nonbinary, gender-fluid person.
2.
My mother was very religious and in an abusive relationship, so coming out to her was pretty difficult and didn’t go well.
3.
In high school, I was most interested in animation until my senior year economics class won over my interest.
4.
I decided to major in economics in college—one of my courses was all about econometrics, which is how I became interested in using data to explain the world around you.
5.
My first job out of college was in public health research at a nonprofit—I was essentially a data scientist before that job title was officially coined.
6.
I really loved working with data and wanted to further explore this newer data science field, so I went back to school for a master’s degree in analytics.
7.
I currently work as a data scientist for Visionist, where I provide analytical support for company projects, collaborate with software development teams, and experiment with new technologies.
8.
Outside of my job with Visionist, I took inspiration from data I collected about my own experience to create Gayta Science, which uses data to shed light on the LGBTQ+ community.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
You're not welcome in STEM environments.
How I responded:
As someone who's female-assigned, non-binary, queer, and from a nontraditional social science background, there are messages suggesting I'm not welcome in STEM environments where these identities aren't represented. Finding a support system where you can be comfortable is important in building the confidence, strength and security to be successful in these environments. Remember that when you're able to be yourself, you're helping to create a more inclusive environment that others can thrive in.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I was fortunate to be able to access counseling to work through a lot of issues related to growing up in an unpredictable environment with domestic violence. I also learned ways to create more healthy relationships with the people I care about.
Accepting my nonbinary identity was a journey. Growing up I didn’t have the language to describe my experience. Collecting and analyzing data on my gender fluctuations was critical in my understanding of gender identity and accepting who I was.