Alumni Community
Our alumni enrich the IAA in countless ways. Learn how you can engage with us!
Alumni in Action
Marketing and Recruitment
- Encourage highly qualified friends, family, colleagues and other acquaintances to apply for admission to the MSA program. If you provide Val Schwartz the individual’s email address and/or LinkedIn profile, she will reach out directly and offer them an application fee waiver.
- Volunteer to interview MSA applicants for admission — either in-person or virtually — alongside members of the Institute faculty and staff. We host 1-2 Saturday “interview blitz” events per admissions cycle, and periodically seek alumni volunteers to assist with admission interviews on weekdays from January – April. The institute team will email a call for volunteers in early fall.
- Organizations at NC State and other institutions regularly seek IAA alumni to serve as speakers or mentors at data-related events (e.g., NC State’s DataFest and its undergraduate Data Analytics Club’s meetings, UNC-Chapel Hill’s Carolina Data Challenge, and UNC Charlotte’s WIDS Conference). The institute team will share these volunteer opportunities with alumni as details become available.
- Share your story! The institute is always looking to highlight alumni and their professional journeys — on our website, social media, and/or monthly newsletters. Contact Val Schwartz if you’re open to being featured in an article or video interview.
Career Services
- Conduct mock job interviews with MSA students and provide them with feedback on their interviewing strengths and areas for improvement. Mock interviews typically occur virtually. The institute team will email a call for volunteers in the fall.
- Whether formally through panels or mock Analytics in Practice sessions, or informally through coffee chats, alumni networking with current MSA students is vital to their success.
- If your company is hiring, host an information session (in-person or virtual) for current MSA students, or post opportunities via the MSA Alumni Google Group. Contact Kate Bagley if you’d like to schedule an employer information session.
MSA Educational Experience
- Hiring or not, your employer can host an Analytics in Practice (AIP) lecture to showcase how you’re leveraging data and AI. An AIP is a one-hour, in-person lecture (required for all students) with an optional networking social. Contact Chris West if you’re interested in getting on our AIP calendar.
- Could your team benefit from the help of 4-5 MSA students on a data science project, working under a signed non-disclosure agreement from September – April? If so, propose a practicum project — there’s no fee. Reach out to Chris West if you’d like to discuss a project idea before submitting a proposal.
- The Institute welcomes data professionals to deliver in-person lectures and workshops as part of our Advanced Analytics course. Have an idea? Contact Sarah Egan Warren to discuss it!