Nkemdibe Okweye, ’27

Why did you choose the DSAN program at GU?

I chose the DSAN program because of the sense of community I felt before even being in it. From the moment you click that apply button, they treat you like one of their own, and that carries through the entire program. All the teachers and staff are genuinely passionate about their work and their students, and on top of that, the rigor of the program itself really drew me in. That sense of belonging was especially important to me since I was picking up my life and moving to a new country,  I needed to know I was going somewhere that would actually support me.

Who had the greatest influence on your career path/education path?

My career path has changed a lot over the years. I started out with a major in accounting, which I quickly realized wasn’t for me. But while working toward my commerce undergrad degree, I had the opportunity to work alongside some really cool people at the Department of National Defence Canada and see the importance of data and the real impact having the right data available at the right time makes. The closer I worked with them, the more intrigued I became; I essentially wanted their jobs. That pushed me to go out and fill those technical gaps I had.

What is your favorite class in the DSAN program?

DSAN 5400, Computational Linguistics with Advanced Python. A lot of it was getting comfortable digging into Python packages and figuring out what’s actually going on, why certain things are laid out a specific way instead of just treating everything as a black box. Really understanding the internals of packages I had been using without knowing how or why they were built the way they are left me comfortable building my own. It also exposed me to how computers process language, which was fascinating given how much sentiment analysis pikes my interests

Any advice you’d give prospective/admitted students?

Give yourself grace. Take your time, and fake it till you make it (that’s what most of us are doing on a daily basis), and eventually you get better and better and fake it a little less each day. This program may be a new challenge for a lot of you, and that’s exactly my advice: take on the challenge and give it your all so you’re not left with regret.

What would people be surprised to learn about you? 

I love horse riding. Every new place I visit, I try to find a ranch and take the horses out for a ride (with supervision, of course, I’m still fairly new to it). It’s become of my favorite ways to experience a place

Favorite way to spend your free time?

Honestly, a mix of everything, relaxing, hanging out with friends and family, watching shows, listening to music, and traveling. 

If you could have any superpower what would it be, and why?

Teleportation. I have a love-hate relationship with flying. I love where it takes me, I just don’t love the mode of getting there. Honestly, that’s how I feel about most modes of transportation. So being able to just appear in places would be cool.