Rachel Li
What year are you, what's your major, what semester is this for you in SAAS, and where are you from?
I'm a freshman studying Statistics and Data Science. This is my second semester in SAAS and I'm from Rockville, MD.
What's Maryland like?
Weather-wise, we have seasons! we get enough snow to close school and there's a good amount of snow for sledding, but it's not 2-3 feet tall like in new England. it can get pretty hot (90 degrees) in the summer. I live in Montgomery County which is right outside DC, so a lot of people's parents work for NIH (National Institutes of Health), NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), or the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). So, a lot of people are interested in studying the natural sciences and going pre-med. Business and CS are definitely not as big as they are in the Bay Area.
Interesting. Well why did you decide on stats/data science then if everyone else was playing doctor?
[Laughs] what's interesting is that in high school I thought I was pre-law, I did mock trial and interned at a law firm. I wanted to do legal work for the Asian American community since I felt like the legal system was a crucial part of all of our lives, but many Asian immigrants have trouble navigating it due to language and cultural barriers. But in senior year my interests changed a lot. I started disliking reading (you have to do a LOT of reading as a lawyer) and also how you sometimes have to "lie" or at least leave out parts of the truth to paint a favorable story for your client. I always liked math in high school, so I came into college thinking I was going to major in Applied Math, but then I realized that I didn't find abstract math the least bit interesting. So that brought me to stats/data science! I feel like data analysis can give you concrete answers to real-world problems using empirical information, which can have a big influence on decision making.
Was there a specific experience that pushed you to stats?
I think it was just a combination of data 8 and CX; CX introduced me to some more advanced concepts in stats/data science and I heard a lot about upper div stats classes from upperclassmen and it seemed like something I would enjoy. It kinda opened a door to a whole new world for me as cliché as it sounds, so I really appreciate SAAS for doing that! My current opinion on CX is that although some of the concepts are definitely too advanced for the members to process, it's a nice introduction to the things we will be learning as a stats major and can help you identify whether or not that's the right path for you.
What other clubs are you in?
I'm in yearbook.
What's that?
[Laughs again] everyone always says "I didn't know we had a yearbook" whenever I tell ppl I'm in yearbook. We only put senior portraits; most of the book is about campus events, organizations, people, etc. We have 3 production teams: design, photo, and copy. We're different from the daily Cal in that there's more room for creativity; the writing (there's a 300-word article for each event) is less of a purely informative purpose and more about using imagery and trying to capture the atmosphere of an event. Sample spreads here: https://yearbook.berkeley.edu/
Advertising are we? Any interesting/funny stories in the line of duty?
Uh I went to a Palatine's event hosted by some CS/engineering organizations for Valentine's day, it was a meet-and-greet thing where they had icebreaker games, and I won a giant heart pillow from their raffle. [Laughs again]
A lot of people aren't too sure what it is Web Dev does what do you personally do in Web Dev?
I'm working on a front-end data visualization project using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Leaflet (a JavaScript library) in a group of 3, we're visualizing UCPD crime rates over January-March 2019.
What do you think your project will end up looking like?
Oh, we're making a heat map of the locations where crimes occur. We're also trying to make it so that you can filter by type of crime.
Whose idea was this?
I don't remember who specifically came up with it but it's something that everyone in my group was really interested in doing, because safety/crime is an issue that affects all Berkeley students and we thought it would be important for people to know where the most crimes occur.
Web Dev is famous for hosting Avalon games what has your experience been playing Avalon?
I LOVE AVALON!!! This semester was my first time and it's literally been the best thing SAAS has introduced me to. I used to be pretty bad at lying during games though but during Avalon everyone ALWAYS thinks I'm good when I'm actually bad, so I guess I've gotten a lot better at lying and being a snake lol. It's also been a great bonding experience especially at retreat!!!!
Speaking about retreat, what has your experience been like in SAAS club wide, not just in your committee? I remember last semester you were infamous for going to every event and blowing everyone else out at the banquet when points were shown.
I like how there's been a lot more events this semester. I feel like everyone in the club is super friendly and chill and also super smart and people give good advice regarding classes. [I don't know], I just wish more people came out to events and/or that we had more Avalon nights because all I really want to do is play Avalon. Having SAAS be so big is also hard since it's harder to get to know people but I appreciate that there's academic/professional support as well as social events! It's like the best of both worlds.
Do you have anything else you want to say regarding anything to anyone who might be reading this?
Follow my food account and subscribe to my YouTube channel :)))