Samantha Parsons is the 2021 online MSDS recipient for the Wood Family Outstanding Student in Data Science Awards. Parsons began the Online M.S. in Data Science program in the summer of 2020. She has brought continuous dedication, hard work, and kindness to her cohort. This has especially been evident in her capstone project sponsored by NASA. The capstone project advisor is Teague Henry. Henry explained that the project was to develop an algorithm for optimally allocating a complex computational workflow that supports NASA's orbital satellite missions to either local computer clusters or a cloud-based infrastructure.
"Sam is an extraordinarily talented data scientist, whose grasp of the underlying mathematics allows her to develop novel solutions to difficult problems,” Henry said. “I have been repeatedly impressed by all the work I've seen from her, and any organization would be extremely lucky to have her on their team!"
Parsons’ classmates commented on her readiness to help, her thoughtfulness, and her talent.
“One of my first memories of Sam was that in our very first week or two of class when most everyone was having difficulty understanding our Statistics class, she was the first to jump in and explain what was going on,” Edward Thompson (MSDS ‘21) said. “This was indicative of Sam. She was always ready to lean in and help everyone in the cohort.”
Paul Hicks noted that she represented the cohort well, not only in her approach to data science, but also in how she treated others and interacted with the cohort.
“She was one of our informal leaders without question,” noted Paul Hicks. “I would put her right up there at the top with some of the more important people that helped get us off the ground.She is incredibly empathetic and can always see multiple sides of a situation. She is also lighthearted and fun. We struggled to get going in the beginning, when the first semester kicked off. Sam was one of the ones that just leaned in and helped the other students understand what was going on, particularly with statistics. She steps out of her comfort zones and has shown incredible, humble leadership.”
Congratulations Sam!