A passionate dedication to lifelong learning and career progression is a common trait of alumni from the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics. We reached out to some outstanding Lerner alumni to share their professional experiences and insights on improving the world of business for future generations of Blue Hens.
Negin Faraji earned a doctorate in financial services analytics (FSAN) in 2016 and currently works as a data scientist at Virginia Tech. Faraji spoke with Lerner about her journey to the FSAN program and what she learned through the program at Lerner.
Lerner: Why did you decide to pursue your program at the Lerner College?
Faraji: It is the only Ph.D. program that blends finance, data science and statistics, which are critical for any financial business to be successful.
Lerner: What did you learn through this opportunity that you wouldn’t have learned anywhere else?
Faraji: I wasn’t able to find the same interdisciplinary curriculum anywhere else. FSAN gave me the opportunity to take unique courses and improve my skills to be prepared as a data scientist.
Lerner: Please share an example of a course or concept that you were able to apply directly to your life and/or career.
Faraji: Machine learning and data mining courses are the ones that I’m using in my job on a daily basis.
Lerner: Describe an important connection you have made through your program.
Faraji: The connections with faculty members, and especially my advisor, helped me to find the right path which I was interested in.
Lerner: If you were to describe your classmates in one word, what would that be and why?
Faraji: Supportive
Lerner: Fill in this sentence: “My program helped me become…”
Faraji: A proud FSAN/Blue Hen alumni and a qualified data scientist.
Lerner: What piece of advice would you give to current UD students?
Faraji: Don’t accept the models and concepts as a black box, try to dig into them and understand the logic behind them.
Lerner: What are your professional plans or next steps for the future?
Faraji: I plan to have my own company.
Lerner: What piece of advice do you have for fellow businesspeople?
Faraji: Learn as much as you can and never stop.
Lerner: What does it mean to you to be a Lifelong Lerner?
Faraji: Be committed to sharing the knowledge.