Student Snapshot: Bridget Williams ’21
With deep and varied interests and a promising road ahead, Bridget Williams ’21 is a quintessential Dickinsonian. She double majors in math and quantitative economics and will work for T. Rowe Price after graduation. She also enjoys learning about art and architecture, and in her free time, she runs a virtual thrift shop and sells original designs online. Below, she talks about her high-skill, data-driven summer internship, the expriences that helped her build skills and confidence and more.
Hometown:
Ellicott City, Maryland.
Majors:
Mathematics and quantitative economics.
Clubs and organizations:
Delta Nu, Admissions student interviewer, Liberty Cap Society (tour guides), Student Senate, Residence Life & Housing (student worker) and women’s basketball team (freshman and sophomore years).
Honors/scholarships/awards:
John Montgomery Scholarship and Sigma Alpha Pi.
Best thing about my Dickinson experience:
Though I can name countless events and organizations that have made my time at Dickinson so memorable, I believe that the people at Dickinson are what make it truly special. I know I will cherish the friendships I have made at Dickinson for the rest of my life, and I am so thankful for the countless lessons that my professors and supervisors have taught me, both in and out of the classroom.
Best thing about my major:
I really enjoy my combination of majors, math and quantitative economics, because I have learned about a blend of theoretical and applied concepts. In my math major, I take several classes that involve proving mathematical concepts. I think it’s really neat to learn the logic behind ideas that I then apply in the math used in my quantitative economics major classes.
Favorite professor:
Associate Professor of Economics Anthony Underwood. I have taken three classes with Professor Underwood—Environmental Economics, Econometrics and Advanced Econometrics—and I look forward to taking his Economic Demography and Sustainable Development senior seminar as well. Professor Underwood always brings an upbeat approach to his courses, and he provides very helpful feedback and instruction regarding assignments that involve coding. I believe that my positive experiences in his courses have, in part, fueled my desire to enter a data-heavy career.
Little-known hobby/talent:
In my free time, I like to do things that combine my creative side and my entrepreneurial spirit. I run a successful shop on Depop, an online thrifting platform, and I also create and sell designs on RedBubble, another online marketplace.
Favorite class/learning experience:
Though I have had many great classes within the realm of my majors, my favorite classes at Dickinson have been from the art history department. I have taken Modern and Contemporary Architecture and Intro to Art History, both with Adjunct Faculty in Art & Art History Lisa Dorrill, and these courses have given me a new appreciation for art and travel. After taking these courses, I have enjoyed visiting various art museums and talking about the pieces that they house in a much more educated way. The architecture class I took exposed me to the beauty of intricate and seemingly mundane buildings and structures around the world; I would love to travel and view some of these fascinating places in person someday. I am so thankful to go to Dickinson because the liberal-arts curriculum allows me to explore academic interests outside of my major, which makes learning so much more fun and gratifying. This semester, I will wrap up my Dickinson career by taking one more art history class, Gender and Sexuality in Modern American Art, and I look forward to it.
If I could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, it would be …
… my favorite musical artist, Benee.
About my internship:
This past summer, I worked as a global technology intern at T. Rowe Price with the company’s Client Data Rebuild team. I spent the summer learning new coding languages, SQL and Snowflake, and I used these languages to work with company data to spot and fix data quality issues. In addition, I gained exposure to SnapLogic, a data pipelining software. I ended my work with a presentation of my findings, which I presented to company executives. Through my experience, though it was a remote internship, I was able to make professional connections with a variety of individuals at T. Rowe, and I was fortunate enough to receive a full-time offer from the firm after graduation from Dickinson.
Post-Dickinson plans:
After Dickinson, I’ll be entering the workforce, and I’m excited to start a job that applies the skills I’ve learned in my math and quantitative economics majors. Though I’m not sure exactly where this will take me yet, I have a strong interest in staying on the East Coast, particularly New York City, or moving to Europe.
Most important thing I’ve learned so far:
One of the most important things that I’ve learned at Dickinson is that so much growth can occur when you step out of your comfort zone. When I first ran for Student Senate and decided to work for Residence Life & Housing, for instance, I spontaneously decided to apply for these positions in order to try something new. These positions have given me lots of confidence in my abilities; I am so happy that I decided to try them out, especially since I applied for them without knowing practically anyone involved in their organizations at the time. By joining these organizations, I’ve gained skills and made connections that I’ll value forever.
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Published January 29, 2021