I have always been interested in technology and people and even switched between majoring in psychology and computer science during my undergraduate studies. During graduate school, for the first time, I had the chance to blend these interests with an interdisciplinary research project on computational approaches to modeling personal values as expressed in language. That project eventually became the foundation for my PhD dissertation. During my postdoc, I broadened my focus to other areas of computational social science and later connected these interests to my teaching and research lab as a faculty member. I am grateful to have the chance to work with amazing students and as we all continue to learn and contribute.
The opportunity to work with people from all kinds of disciplines makes data science one of the most exciting areas to work in. I have the chance to constantly learn new things through research collaborations, and applying computing to fields like psychology or communication provides unique opportunities to make a positive societal impact.