Graduate Story: Annie Le '22, EAB
"Graduating with an economics major, I transitioned to data engineering thanks to the liberal-arts education that allowed me to take courses in different departments than my major, such as computer science and data analytics."
—Annie Le '22
Right out of Dickinson, Annie Le ’22 started a data-integration analyst job at EAB, an education-focused consulting firm based in Washington, D.C., that serves around 2,500 schools, colleges and universities. Now the Vietnam native is an associate data engineer there, taking advantage of her Optional Practical Training (OPT) status, which allows international students to acquire U.S. work authorization related to their majors. Her internships at Giant Eagle Inc., Deloitte and EY paved the way, as did her economics major and her time as a tutor in Dickinson’s Quantitative Reasoning Center.
Tell us a little about your position.
I’m part of the data engineering team for EAB’s Edify, a data management and analytics tool for higher education. Our team implements Edify to help high-ed institutions bring their data together and apply data management rules and validations to ensure a sole trustworthy source of data. We then utilize the data to build analytic insights and dashboards that help education institutions with problem-solving and decision-making.
What was your Dickinson experience like?
I valued Dickinson’s small academic community, and I felt I was taken care of by faculty and staff. Professors recognized my presence in class and remembered me, even if I only took class with them for a semester. Dickinson also took care of my necessity needs, so I could focus on my academic path. In a small community like Dickinson, my work was appreciated regardless of how little or significant an influence it had. I had the opportunity to work as a tutor at the Quantitative Reasoning Center, where I assisted other students with their academic difficulties and ran Excel workshops for students. My work was later recognized by my supervisors who nominated me for the Student Employee of the Year award.
How did Dickinson help prepare you for where you are today?
Graduating with an economics major, I transitioned to data engineering thanks to the liberal-arts education that allowed me to take courses in different departments than my major, such as computer science and data analytics. Thus, I’m not afraid to learn and challenge myself in different business areas. For example, I worked in retail merchandising and the banking industry before landing a job at EAB. Regardless of the background, I was able to learn and develop my skill sets for a data engineer position at an education consulting company.
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Published February 1, 2023