The Master of Science in Analytics Class of 2020 Director’s Prize was awarded to Sarah Wotus and Jackson Cabell for their outstanding performance during the past year. Both are graduates of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Sarah earned her B.S.P.H. degree with High Distinction in 2019, majoring in Biostatistics; Jackson earned his B.S., with High Distinction, in 2019, with a double major in Statistics & Analytics and Economics, and a minor in Spanish. Both will join Bain & Company as Senior Associates, Data Science, in the Atlanta office of the firm’s Global Advanced Analytics group.
About Sarah Wotus
Sarah has always been passionate about health and wellness, whether it was researching nutrition while training for a marathon, studying the latest public health issues, or managing Hispanic health data during her internship at the Collaborative Studies Coordinating Center. Combined with her strong affinity for mathematics, her focus on health led Sarah to a biostatistics degree at UNC-Chapel Hill.
While studying smart city development and renewable energy in Germany and the Netherlands, Sarah was inspired by companies driving environmental and public health innovation. As a result of her experience abroad, she added an environmental science minor and pursued an internship with the City of Charlotte Storm Water Department focused on data analytics. Sarah quickly absorbed water quality knowledge while also leading a project on culvert function in which she directed data collection and conducted statistical analysis in SAS. Her analysis will be used for follow-up studies and future design considerations in order to improve aquatic life passage and flood control in cities, and she had the opportunity to present those findings at the NC Water Resources Research Institute Conference.
It was no surprise that Sarah incorporated the environment into her studies, as she has always had a love of the outdoors. As an avid runner, she enjoys exploring local parks and discovering new trails to run. Her desire to travel and explore grew after a trip to Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Parks. When not dreaming of her next hiking adventure, Sarah enjoys reading her favorite book series, Harry Potter. However, you will always find Sarah with the biggest smile on her face when she is surrounded by friends as well as meeting new ones.
About Jackson Cabell
The youngest of three, Jackson has always been the chattiest of the bunch. In childhood scrapbooks, his mother described him as the “mayor of the neighborhood,” a title he earned due to countless hours spent organizing wiffle ball tournaments in the cul-de-sac.
Jackson channeled this passion for storytelling through data analytics. He excelled within the classroom and eventually earned UNC’s Statistics department award. Eager to apply the methods he learned, he combined his enthusiasm for sports and statistics by joining UNC’s Varsity Baseball Data Analytics team, for which he helped create a catcher-framing report. In pursuit of more rigorous projects, Jackson completed a data analysis about bringing back the mid-range jump shot for the 2018 NBA Analytics Hackathon, in which his team placed in the top 10. They presented their findings to many NBA employees, including the King’s VP of Strategy and Analytics, Luke Bornn, and NBA TV Analyst, Doris Burke. Keen to explore another side of data science, Jackson joined MetLife as a Data Science Intern. Throughout the internship, he refined his analytical skills by automating data manipulation techniques in Python to streamline MetLife’s operational excellence.
While he considers himself a “numbers guy,” Jackson lives a well-rounded life and enjoys being around others. Whether he is playing pickup basketball, biking on local trails, or lifting weights, Jackson keeps his mind fresh every day through exercise and spending time with friends. Upon program completion, Jackson looks forward to working with others to solve business problems by creating stories with data.