{"674166":{"#nid":"674166","#data":{"type":"news","title":"IAC Grad Combines Passion for Data Science and International Affairs","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EClassrooms are critical learning environments in college, but experiences outside of them can be just as impactful. Just ask Tyler Quillen, who found his passion for data visualization \u2014 a skill typically associated with STEM disciplines \u2014 through his research assistantship at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/inta.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESam Nunn School of International Affairs.\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EQuillen will complete his B.S. in International Affairs this spring and said participating in the inaugural cohort of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pathways2policy.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGTDC: Pathways to Policy\u003C\/a\u003E program in Washington also helped solidify his aspirations to work in data visualization after graduation.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Going into college, I had no idea what I wanted to do,\u0022 Quillen said. \u201cComing to Tech and working as a researcher showed me my interest in data science, which I had never had exposure to previously. And that was further reinforced going to D.C., where it was such a great experience working on deeper data science and getting to see what it\u0027s really like to be in my field.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003EMerging STEM and Humanities\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHow exactly does data science tie into the liberal arts, and why is it such a critical skill for success?\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It\u0027s how you communicate to people,\u0022 Quillen said. \u0022People are often visual learners, so being able to show a piece of data concisely and how it\u0027s changed over time is a huge part of communicating to people on a variety of issues. It\u0027s a skill I really value having and is critical for informing people of the point of the research.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDuring the Pathways to Policy program, Quillen and his classmates worked full-time while taking classes at night. The internships vary based on interest, and Quillen split his time between two organizations at the National Defense University, conducting research at the College of International Security Affairs and creating data visualizations at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies. The visualizations he worked on used economic, societal, and political data to help the organization track trends in the region and inform where they could best focus and direct their work in the future.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EQuillen says international affairs is an \u201coften misunderstood\u201d field, so communicating data is an essential part of making an impact.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The average American voter votes primarily on domestic issues and doesn\u0027t pay attention to many international issues. I\u0027m biased because I\u0027m an international affairs major, but I think that\u0027s a shame,\u0022 Quillen said. \u0022Creating good data visualizations is a huge part of informing the public about various issues and is why I respect the Center for Strategic International Studies. They do a great job of making interactive data displays to inform the average person about issues in international affairs and show that information in a way that\u0027s easy for anybody to understand.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003ETurning Passion Into a Career\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe aptly named GTDC: Pathways to Policy emphasizes just that \u2014 that there are many different ways to have an impact and create change in the policy sphere.\u0026nbsp;Quillen\u0027s research journey at Georgia Tech and semester in Washington helped him discover a unique interdisciplinary passion for data visualization and international affairs that he will take into his career.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter graduation, Quillen wants to move back to Washington and land a full-time job at the Center for Strategic International Studies, something he hopes the alumni networking and internship experiences on the GTDC program will help him achieve.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I never would have known about this without doing the research at Tech, and then it\u0027s just been further reinforced over time as I\u0027ve gotten more experiences and exposure to the field,\u0022 Quillen said. \u201cI feel very lucky that I had the opportunities that I did to get exposed to all this.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETyler Quillen found his passion for data visualization \u2014 a skill typically associated with STEM disciplines \u2014 through his research assistantship at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Tyler Quillen found his passion for data visualization \u2014 a skill typically associated with STEM disciplines \u2014 through his research assistantship at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs."}],"uid":"35766","created_gmt":"2024-04-12 18:32:58","changed_gmt":"2024-04-29 13:50:17","author":"dminardi3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-04-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2024-04-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"673699":{"id":"673699","type":"image","title":"Quillen.png","body":null,"created":"1712947458","gmt_created":"2024-04-12 18:44:18","changed":"1712947458","gmt_changed":"2024-04-12 18:44:18","alt":"Tyler holding a certificate in front of flags in a state capitol \/ government building setting","file":{"fid":"257128","name":"Quillen.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/04\/12\/Quillen.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/04\/12\/Quillen.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1602415,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/04\/12\/Quillen.png?itok=2-4yWxD8"}}},"media_ids":["673699"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"1285","name":"Sam Nunn School of International Affairs"},{"id":"1289","name":"School of Public Policy"}],"categories":[{"id":"151","name":"Policy, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:dminardi3@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EDi Minardi\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIvan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["dminardi3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}