Three years ago, Caitlin Gorman wrote her Georgia Tech admissions essay about her passion for analytics. But, when she arrived on campus as an eager freshman, she couldn’t find many outlets to further explore business analytics as a potential career.
So, in typical dream-big, get-it-done Yellow Jacket fashion, she created one.
“Last Spring, I attended the Women in Analytics panel put on by the Business Analytics Center (BAC) and the graduate Business Analytics Club,” explained Caitlin. “After the event, when speaking to members of the Business Analytics Center team I expressed my interest in undergraduate business analytics events. When they told me undergraduate engagement was a big goal for them, I saw an opportunity.”
Caitlin volunteered to be a Student Ambassador at the BAC’s Graduate Business Analytics Practicum Showcase and recruited fellow Scheller business analytics enthusiast Bella Christman to join her.
At the Showcase, they spoke with the BAC team again and several Atlanta-area business analytics executives, all whom encouraged their interest in business analytics—and the undergraduate club they were considering.
The two got right to work. Over the summer, while also holding down full-time internships (Caitlin as a Jumpstart Intern at Georgia Pacific and Bella as a marketing intern at Atlanta Ventures), they brainstormed about what a new undergraduate business analytics club could offer Scheller and Georgia Tech.
“Although business analytics is taught in our introductory classes, it’s not always labeled as such, and many students don’t even realize they’ve learned many of the basics of business analytics,” said Bella. “You can’t take a strictly business analytics class until your third year. So, for us, educating undergraduates about business analytics became the number one priority for the club.”
The two co-founders and co-presidents hope to shine a light on business analytics at the Institute.
“Scheller is ranked number one in public universities for both undergraduate and graduate business analytics,” said Caitlin. “There is a wealth of experience and information here. We want to help undergrads connect early and see the potential opportunities and careers available in the field.”
Forging Ahead
Back at Tech for the fall semester, Caitlin and Bella officially started the Undergraduate Business Analytics Club, adding industry engagement as a second goal.
“Corporate connections are so valuable,” said Bella. “Networking and learning from professionals already in the field add so much to the classroom experience.”
UBAC is already creating quite the buzz within Scheller. The co-founders created an Instagram account (@ubac.gt) to communicate with other undergraduates and recently recruited potential members at the Scheller Undergraduate Activity Fair. Their mission statement outlines their objectives:
The mission of UBAC is to provide business analytics learning opportunities for undergraduate students in Scheller and across Georgia Tech. Through events, workshops, guest speakers, and other activities, we aim to connect students interested in business analytics and create opportunities to meet and network with industry leaders.
UBAC’s first organizational meeting will be held September 19th at 7 p.m. with Professor and Managing Director of the BAC Keith Werle providing an overview of business analytics and discussing business analytics at Scheller. Additional Club plans include a panel with young professionals in November and a social event in December. They also plan to support the graduate Business Analytics Club as well as BAC events, such as the upcoming Business Analytics and Data Science Career Fair & Internship Expo on September 22nd.
Why Business Analytics?
Caitlin discovered her passion for analytics back in high school. “Before I came to Georgia Tech, I operated a small business where I sold digital prints of my photography,” said Caitlin. “Looking at the data my sales website generated was exciting, especially when I used that analysis to guide my business decisions.”
Her internship at Georgia Pacific and personal exploration of the power of business analytics has only made her interest grow. “Our world produces so much data every day. There is incredible value in understanding data and extracting insights to make better decisions. That is fascinating to me.”
Bella first developed her interest in business analytics while working jobs not remotely related to the field. “While working in jobs at restaurants and pools, I realized I care a lot about efficacy. I saw the value of looking back at what you had been doing and the patterns generated, then using that information to make better decisions going forward. For me, it’s a question of efficiency and I think that is something that can be applied in day-to-day life as well as the business world.”
In addition to UBAC, she continues to seek out opportunities to learn more about business analytics. “This spring I did a pre-program internship with Abercrombie and Fitch and we worked a lot on allocation of products based on buying habits and where you would put a product—not just in the store, but throughout the world. With that project, I saw firsthand how we can improve the small tasks that might get overlooked in order to make a better experience for everyone that interacts with the company.”
UBAC and its leaders are poised to make a difference and bring the many possibilities and opportunities inherent in business analytics to the forefront. “Across Georgia Tech, there are so many students who see the power of data and enjoy unlocking analytic insights. I’d hate for an undergraduate to miss out on something they could be really passionate about and potentially turn into a rewarding career, just because they didn’t learn about it during the first few years of their collegiate experience,” summed up Bella.
Visit https://linktr.ee/ubac.gt for more information about UBAC events.