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From Charlottesville to Valencia, BSDS Student Trevor Xu Discovers What Data Science Looks Like Around the World
Zilu "Trevor" Xu didn’t have a roadmap when he became the first UVA School of Data Science undergraduate student to study abroad in Valencia, Spain. There were no alumni to call, no playbook to follow — just a willingness to step into something new.
What Xu found was far more than a semester abroad: small, discussion-driven data science classes that reshaped how he learned; an internship he proactively carved out with a transportation research institute; and a host family who pushed him to navigate daily life in Spanish. Along the way, he encountered a version of data science shaped not just by code, but by culture, policy, and real-world complexity.
This is how one student helped define what studying abroad can look like for the next generation of BSDS majors.
Q: You were among the first BSDS students to study abroad through the School of Data Science, and the first to do it in Valencia. What did it mean to you to be part of that first cohort, and what made you decide to take that leap?
I made this decision mainly because I love to travel and experience different cultures, and Spain has been on my list for a long time. I felt very honored and excited to explore this opportunity. Even though it was a brand new program with no previous students to learn from, that uncertainty was actually part of what made it exciting.
Q: In Valencia, you took the same core BSDS requirements you would have taken in Charlottesville. What was it like taking those courses in a completely different environment, and did anything about the experience change how you engaged with the material?
I would say there were two main differences. The first was class size — the largest core BSDS course I attended had only four students, and in one course, I was the only student. That gave me a lot more freedom to ask questions and shaped how I engaged with the material.
The schedule and learning plan were also much more flexible; I could discuss my areas of interest directly with the professor and build my projects around them. The second difference was the teaching style. Professors in Spain had a more relaxed approach — they frequently shared personal opinions and stories during class, which made the atmosphere feel much more open and conversational compared to what I was used to in Charlottesville.
Q: You lived with a host family while you were abroad. Describe the experience.
I lived with a very warm and welcoming host family — a host mom, her daughter, her mother, and a housekeeper. I arrived in Spain with limited Spanish skills, and no one in the household spoke English, so I felt a little frustrated at the beginning.
But my host mom was incredibly encouraging. She gave me a lot of positive feedback on my Spanish and made a habit of asking me to share something about my day at dinner. The family was genuinely curious about my cultural background, which made me feel welcome rather than out of place.
Living with a host family also meant following house rules — like turning off the lights when you leave your room, which I kept forgetting. Small things like that taught me a lot about respecting others' spaces and routines. Overall, living with the family helped me build a much deeper connection to Spanish culture than I ever could have from a dorm or apartment.
Q: You also secured an internship while you were abroad. How did that opportunity come about? What kind of work were you doing, and how has it shaped your career goals or confidence as a data scientist?
I interned at INTRAS, a public transportation research organization based at the University of Valencia. This opportunity was actually not part of the standard internship program that UVA in Valencia offered — most of those placements were focused on Spanish language practice. But I reached out to the program manager directly and told her I was looking for a data science opportunity. She connected me with a technology-focused position at INTRAS.
During the internship, I mainly worked on building an API automation pipeline and did data cleaning and engineering using SQL on Ubuntu — all within the context of the DS4M Mediterraneo project, which aimed to build a unified data mobility platform integrating transportation data from governments, private companies, and public enterprises across Spain's Mediterranean coast.
It was a great chance to apply what I had learned in school to a real-world problem at a meaningful scale, and it also taught me what it means to work professionally in a different cultural environment — how teams communicate, how decisions get made, and how to adapt my own working style accordingly. This experience deepened my interest in applying data science to public policy and government contexts, and it's an area I'm actively thinking about as I consider my career path.
Q: Describe a specific project or academic moment from your time in Valencia that you still think about. What were you working on, and why does it stand out？
The experience that stands out most is the project I worked on during my internship at INTRAS, where I was part of the STEM team contributing to an EU-funded data mobility platform aimed at integrating transportation data across multiple organizations and regions.
When I joined, the project had barely gotten off the ground — there was no clear blueprint, just a vague goal. My team had to figure out almost everything from scratch: how to collect the data, how to structure it, and how to reach out to over 50 companies simultaneously, which meant building API connections and automation pipelines just to manage the scale.
What made it even more complex was that the data requirements kept shifting after each team meeting, forcing us to revise what we had already built — we ended up going through nearly 10 different versions of the dataset. On top of that, around 40% of the rows in our collected data were missing at least one key feature, requiring careful, case-by-case handling.
This project taught me that real-world data science is fundamentally about patience and adaptability — the problems are never as clean as what you study in school, and staying calm while managing uncertainty is just as important as any technical skill.
Q: Was there a moment in Valencia — in a class, a conversation, or just daily life — where you saw data science through a different lens because of where you were?
Being in a completely new cultural environment showed me just how diverse data science can be — both in how it's practiced and in what it's used for.
One moment that stands out was in my Data Ethics course, taught by professor Estefanía. She walked us through data-related policies in Europe and Spain, many of which differ significantly from what I was familiar with in the U.S. We explored cases involving personal data consent, the illegal trading of private data, and instances of governments concealing certain datasets from the public. It made me realize that being a data scientist isn't just about building good models — it also means taking responsibility for the ethical and social implications of the work.
At the same time, my internship at INTRAS brought a completely different dimension to that understanding. Working on the DS4M Mediterraneo project, I saw how data science could be applied directly to public transportation and government policy — integrating data from public and private transportation systems across Spain's Mediterranean coast into a single platform.
Together, these two experiences shifted how I think about the field: data science is not just a technical discipline, it's deeply shaped by the cultural, legal, and political context you're working in.
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Q: How did the Spanish language immersion and everyday life in Valencia affect you beyond the classroom — and what did you learn about yourself?
Valencia has a rich social scene, and UVA frequently organized weekend trips for students — I'm really glad I took advantage of those experiences with my classmates, visiting interesting bars, local spots, and traveling to new places together.
But what I valued just as much was the time I carved out for myself. I brought my bicycle to Spain and joined a local cycling club, which allowed me to explore villages and towns around Valencia that most visitors never see. It gave me a quieter, more personal connection to the place.
My internship also opened doors I didn't expect — I formed genuine friendships with my Spanish colleagues at INTRAS. They took me to local restaurants and, through everyday conversations, shared their perspectives on life, family, and politics in ways that felt very different from anything I could have found staying within the American student bubble.
Looking back, what Valencia taught me most about myself is that I can step outside my comfort zone in an unfamiliar culture, find my footing, and build meaningful connections across very different backgrounds. Learning to balance a full social life with real cultural immersion — not just tourism — was one of the most valuable things I took home.
Q: Did being an international student already make studying abroad in Spain easier for you? Were there any challenges?
In some ways, yes. As an international student, I already know what it feels like to be in a new country, to navigate a different culture, to feel a little lost at first. So I was not as shocked by that feeling as maybe some American-born students might be. I already had experience building a new life somewhere unfamiliar.
But there were still real challenges. The language barrier was harder than I expected — the locals were speaking very fast, and it's hard to understand sometimes. And being far from both my home country and my university community at the same time sometimes felt isolating. But I think those challenges were also the most valuable part.
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Q: What would you say to other BSDS students considering studying abroad?
Do not wait for the perfect moment, because there is no perfect moment — and do not let the uncertainty talk you out of it before you even start.
I know the questions creep in: What if I can't fit in? What if the language is too hard? What if I feel isolated? I had all of those thoughts too, but here is the truth: you will never feel fully ready, and that is okay. The BSDS program gives you strong enough technical skills to apply anywhere in the world, so trust that foundation, stop overthinking, and just go.
Once you are there, say yes to things, embrace the discomfort, and do not just stay in the tourist spots — find a host family, seek out a local internship, take the long way home, and get a little lost. That is where the real learning happens, and that is where you will surprise yourself.
Q: In one sentence, how would you describe the value of studying abroad as a BSDS student?
Studying abroad showed me that data science is a technical skill, but knowing how to apply it across different cultures, systems, and real-world contexts — that is what makes you a data scientist who actually matters.
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