2012 - 2022: Still posing for awkward math selfies.
Because I am a cheugy Millennial, I cannot resist a good old-fashioned social media challenge. So when I saw the career version of the #TenYearChallenge start to circulate on LinkedIn in the new year, I decided to play along. Looking back through old photos got me thinking...
Ten years ago, I was a junior at St. Olaf College. I was almost done with my biology degree, which I declared as a freshman, and I was on track to finish my mathematics degree, which I added as a sophomore. I had ZERO intention to study math in college, so how I ended up at one of the best undergraduate mathematics programs in the country was pure fate. Within the math major, I had a strong interest in applied math. I loved linear algebra, so I really enjoyed operations research. Enough to take a laptop selfie in front of a chalkboard of my work! I despised theoretical math, so I hated and almost did not pass real analysis. I am still incredibly proud of myself for memorizing those nonsensical proofs! One of my favorite classes was modern computational mathematics which did everything in a language called R...
At St. Olaf at the time, the applied math track skewed heavily towards computational biology, which as a bio and math double major suited me just fine. Specifically, ten years ago to the day, I was in Arizona doing undergraduate research on lichen species diversity and health’s indications on air quality. Lichen are incredibly delicate, and will preferentially process the heavy isotopes of elements from the air because it is easier. Unfortunately, those heavy isotopes are caused by pollution and will eventually kill the lichen. Looking back, using GIS to map my findings for my poster presentation was my first data visualization! In the decade since, creating aesthetic, accessible, and accurate #DataViz is something I have become passionate about. Excuse the poor image quality -- this photo was probably taken on a Nikon Coolpix -- and look at the story that red blotch tells! Spoiler alert: air pollution along a major highway (top map) and from a smokestack plume (bottom map).
I had planned my degrees well and had extra time in my schedule, so on the topic of applied math, I began taking economics and accounting courses which sparked my interest in business.
Even from reading this synopsis, you can probably tell I was alllll over the place: math! biology! wait, finance? am I a finance bro? math! environmental science! I had a lot of topics I genuinely enjoyed studying and learning about that I could envision turning into a fulfilling career. Because of all these many awesome potential options coupled with a dash of St. Olaf's problematic overachiever culture (#OleAchievers ugh), I was panicked about what would come next in my life and the fact that I only had a year and a half left to "figure it out."
+10 years: Fast forward a decade and I’m still interested in all of those things, just not all at once, not in the same place, and not how I originally thought.
I pursued my love of applied math through a graduate degree in business intelligence and analytics, which was a carefully-selected next step to get on the career path I envisioned. I enjoyed programming in R again (it's a lot like riding a bike) and learning new languages like Python, SAS, and SQL. I discovered I could combine math with my love of tech into data science! There is a lot of room for creativity in data visualization, a new-to-me field that I discovered during my degree program. Did I mention that I also love art and design?
I've continued my business interests through my MBA degree. I’ve used what I learned in my career working for small to large companies, in addition to my own life's side hustles and entrepreneurial inventions. Marketing is something that specifically interests me, especially in a world increasingly saturated with marketing messages at every turn. I like the psychology behind it.
While I’m not using my math skills in an overtly scientific setting like research or healthcare outcomes, I still pursue my love of the natural world through the epic educational nature walks I share on my Instagram stories. (Follow me @edenehm for educational content on Karst topography and the flora and fauna of The Driftless Region.) I'm also passionate about climate change, specifically small changes that are easy and make a difference. #GlobalWeirding I could start an entire blog just about what I've learned and changed to be more environmentally conscious!
The results of my 10-Year Challenge are easy:
In the last decade, I've shown myself that I can continue to pursue all of my interests - sometimes individually, sometimes together, sometimes overlapping, sometimes unexpectedly. I’ve learned that just because I pursue one path doesn’t mean that I must give up all others. If it is something important enough and interesting enough, I'll find a way to keep it in my life. Ten years ago that was something I was really struggling with as I considered what’s next. Choosing one path seemed like I was giving up other potentially awesome paths. Making choices, especially among equally good options, is still hard for me. But even if you make a choice, and choose one thing over another, who or what is going to stop you from changing your mind? Although it is so nice to have settled into my sweet spot for my career, the last ten years of getting here show that it is possible to have an exciting, fulfilling, and diverse resume as you follow your interests and follow the opportunities wherever they may lead. It's okay to have many interests and want to pursue them all because you can!
Any guesses about what I'll be up to in 2032? Designing footwear for Louboutin? Fiddling in the mountains of Norway? Rescue mother to many more cats? Who knows! But that's what's exciting!
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