Susmitha W.

Whether she’s in a classroom or lab (her favorite place on campus) or at a project team meeting, Susmitha appreciates being surrounded by others who are as enthusiastic about data science as she is. The interest and excitement her mentors and peers show for areas such as machine learning and text mining elevates her own work and helps her develop strong personal and professional bonds. “I have been very fortunate to work on research projects with people who are driven and very passionate about what they do,” she says.

Presenting and publishing her work at STEM education conferences such as IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC), MA STEM Summit, and National STEM Education Research and Practice Summit establish her credentials in the field and also give her excellent professional development opportunities.

Working on two distinct but related projects, Susmitha explores her interests and expands her knowledge while making changes that have immediate impact. She works on Seeds of STEM, an innovative early childhood STEM curriculum project that brings her into Head Start classrooms to work with children and teachers. “Observing the impact of the high-quality STEM curriculum on the little children was incredible and the most rewarding experience,” she says. “Being a mother of two kids, this experience further strengthened my view on introducing STEM education to children early on.”

Susmitha plans to continue her research path and would like to share her knowledge by teaching in an academic setting in the future.