Soon-to-be alumna in Statistics Victoria Dilday shares a letter to her younger self – a letter we can all learn from, especially those of you embarking on your own collegiate journey in the coming months.

Dear Sweet Little Freshman-Year Victoria, 

Graduation has always been the end goal. It is always the big thing looming in the background of every day spent here on campus, every memory made here. With each passing year, it becomes a larger and larger reality. You realize all of the things that you haven’t done yet, all of the places you haven’t visited yet, all of the people you haven’t met yet. Now that it’s less than a month away, those sudden moments of realization are hitting almost every day. 

But, my dear freshman self, don’t worry about what you may be thinking at my current stage of life. Only worry about yourself, right now. Your present-day self. 

Freshman year is such a specific time in every college student’s life. Sophomore, junior, senior year, they all blend together. I have trouble differentiating them.  

But freshman year, freshman year stands alone.  

No matter how hard you try to make it seem normal, it is not normal and it will never be normal. It’s weird. All of a sudden you’re surrounded by a whole bunch of strangers and you’re sharing a bathroom with one of them and there’s just so many people out all the time and you’re taking classes that move so quickly and there’s also just so many classes to choose from. It’s overwhelming. 

But, once you stick it out and it does become your new normal for the time being, it is a wonderful time to be alive.  

The sheer amount of pure opportunity is so hard to grasp, you realize it after it has passed you by. You can learn about anything your heart desires, even if you don’t even know that your heart does desire it. You can join clubs that will offer you even more opportunity. You can change your major three times and still want to learn more (spoiler: this does indeed happen. Statistics is a great one, though).  

And the people are going to be some of the most amazing people you have ever met. They are going to be so interesting and funny and smart that it’s intimidating. But they are thinking the same of you, so just talk to them anyway. You never know how this one person can change your life. 

My one piece of advice is to just say yes. Hang out with these strangers you meet, go to events that seem even a little interesting, join those random clubs that entice you, take German 101 for one semester just because you want to learn a new language and now you know how to ask for the bathroom in German, a skill not everyone can say they have.  

The world is truly your oyster, and, statistically speaking, the odds of you having a great time are much greater if you keep your mind open and curious and present. Trust me, I have a degree in statistics (in a month). 

With much love and only some jealousy, 

Senior-Year Victoria 

Go Illini!!

Statistics ambassador Leah Decatus-Haddad shares her plans for after graduation, and the opportunities here at Illinois that she’s taken advantage of to help get her closer to those goals.

Hello! My name is Leah, and I am currently a junior majoring in Statistics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Honestly, even just a year ago, post graduation plans seemed so far out of reach. As someone who didn’t even know what major to choose until my sophomore year (hence putting me a bit behind in stats course work lol),  having concrete goals or plans seemed entirely unfathomable to me. I had no motivations or passions, so instead of thinking too hard about the future, I didn’t think about it at all. I constantly compared myself to other students, which only made my mental health worse and made me more aimless than I already was.

However, once I decided on my major (yay Statistics!!!), it became a lot easier to put the pieces together for my future. To make a long story short, post-graduation, I intend to attend a graduate program in biostatistics, with a concentration in clinical trial and experiment design. And while that may seem like a very refined goal for someone who said they have none, it took a while for me to decide on this path.

As someone who has always enjoyed reading and learning new things, I was drawn to statistics when I took STAT 100 in my freshman year. I enjoyed researching, analyzing data, and learning about data gaps present in our daily lives. Luckily for me, the Statistics major has an abundance of research opportunities.

One such research opportunity is the Blackwell Scholars Program, which I participated in Summer 2024. The program exposed me to how experiments are designed and conducted, which peaked my interest in experiment design. Through the program, I got to network with other students, faculty, and staff in the department. Faculty within the Statistics department are always willing to talk to students and answer questions about their careers and the work they do. By talking with Statistics faculty members about the different work you can do with Statistics, my goals started to form. They also helped me decide what kind of post graduate degree (PhD or Masters) works best for the kind of work I intend to pursue, and their guidance was very helpful in me deciding to attend graduate school. The research experience and networking opportunities the program offered me put me on a path to deciding what to do after I graduate.

Through my connections from the Blackwell scholars program, I was introduced to the Undergraduate Research Experience in Statistics (URES) program, a program offered by the Statistics department that aims to involve undergraduate students in statistics research. One of the professors I met through the program offered me the opportunity to be involved in URES, and I have been a URES scholar ever since. Through URES, I am able to research a variety of questions that I am interested in, with the guidance of experienced faculty members. By participating in URES, my passion for research and experiments has only grown, and so has my coding and computational skills.

Another thing I am passionate about is women’s advocacy. It is no secret that despite how far our society has come in terms of gender equality, there are still many barriers that women face in our daily lives. Learning more about gender data gaps revealed how inequitable our society is, especially concerning health. Clinical trials for pharmaceutical and medical treatments do not disaggregate for sex, so oftentimes, researchers do not know how such treatments affect female anatomy. Learning this through my exposure to research prompted me to focus on filling the gender data gap, especially pertaining to health, and is the reason I want to work in experimental design. I want to design experiments that focus on how medical treatments affect female bodies, which will allow treatment developers to create treatments that are better suited for female bodies.

From my passion for women’s advocacy, and the lack of a Statistics RSO on campus, myself and other women majoring in Statistics at Illinois decided to create the first Women in Stats club this semester. The statistics advising staff was there every step of the way, from getting us connected with other women and underrepresented communities in the Stats major, to booking our space for our meetings.

While it may appear that I have everything figured out, I want to emphasize that it took a long time for me to get to this point. Like many other students, I struggle a lot with imposter syndrome, and often feel like I am not doing enough, that I am not smart enough, capable enough, or focused enough. It’s important to keep in mind that everyone moves at their own pace, and everyone comes from different backgrounds and has different experiences that shape who they are, the choices they make, and the goals and plans they have. I always used to dismiss it when people say that no one has it figured out, but honestly that’s true. And the Statistics Department is there for you. Professors are always willing to talk to students about academics and research, and the advising team is always lending a helpful hand. With the help of the Stats department, I was able to refine my plans, and intertwine the Stats curriculum with issues that I am passionate about.

Ashrith Anumala, senior in Statistics & Computer Science, walks us along his path to deciding on Illinois for his undergraduate career.

You may be wondering how I got here. Back in high school I had no real idea of what I planned on doing and was in a general whirlwind of confusion when it came to picking a college and a major. Most people seemed to have figured it out, but I couldn’t say the same.

I would like to say I ended up studying Stats & CS here because of fate, but the truth is that it was a complete accident. Being out of state, I knew virtually nothing about Illinois except that a friend I knew enjoyed her time there. That seemed good enough for me to apply. I enjoyed my high school computer science class, so naturally I leaned towards that major. I was looking to select it on the application for Illinoi until I was bombarded by what seemed like a million different options. CS + Agriculture, CS & Math, CS + linguistics, and the list just kept going. And then I came across CS & Stats. At the time, I was taking stats in high school and had generally enjoyed it, so half-heartedly clicked it as my intended major and pressed submit.

Months later, after I had even forgotten that I applied as Stats & CS, I received my acceptance. I initially dismissed Illinois and remember laughing with my friends about the miles and miles of cornfields surrounding the school. But, I was close to a few of my teachers in high school and when I told them that I had gotten into the program, they immediately urged me to consider it. I remember reviewing the curriculum with one teacher, who told me it’d be a great opportunity for me and I’d probably really enjoy it. This got my gears turning, “What if I actually went there?”

The more I looked into it, the more I envisioned myself going there. Many of the graduates I saw online went to work in cool fields (sports analytics & financial technology) and lived in cool places (NY!). This continued to fuel my excitement. After talking it over with my parents and reaching out to a couple of students I knew on campus, my concerns about the location and the overall program began fading away. I truly started believing I could enjoy my life in the cornfields. By early April, I made my decision: I was going to Illinois.

Between enrolling and the first day of class, two events really reassured my decision. Firstly, I attended one of the Admitted Students days on campus. My gut reaction was that it shouldn’t be this cold in April. But as I talked to my fellow admitted students, many of them expressed admiration about the program I was going to be a part of and I learned more about the school. I would definitely recommend attending one of these events. The second event was my freshman registration meeting with my advisor, Jen. As I hadn’t really taken a math or a computer science class in the past year, I was a little worried about how I’d be doing. Senioritis was at an all time high and I retained almost no information. She encouraged me to take all the introductory classes and reassured me that I would be in a great learning environment with tons of other freshmen from out of state, further reducing my concerns about attending.

Now that I’m about to graduate, I could not be more grateful for that seemingly random decision to apply to be a part of statistics at Illinois. I’ve not once thought about changing my major. This program has taught me everything I could have asked for and has given me access to opportunities my high school self couldn’t even think of. For prospective students, my advice is to reach out to current students or advisors to help answer any questions or concerns you may have about the school or college in general. People here are extremely friendly and I’m sure they’ll do a great job of helping you figure out what you could potentially get out of being at Illinois.

An internship can be a great way to gain hands-on industry experience alongside your academic journey. Statistics & Computer Science student Rohan Gavankar talks about how he successfully landed an internship, and what helped him as he searched for and applied to different positions.

Rohan mentions working at County Financial; you can read more about CF at Research Park on campus here!

The internship search can be a daunting and stressful process, but there are ways to stand out. Remember, it’s never too late to start looking!

Building a Strong Resume

Before you even start applying for internships, make sure your resume is in top shape. Update it with your latest courses, skills, experiences, and projects. If you feel like your resume needs more depth, start building it with simple projects. YouTube is full of tutorials to help you get started, and once you find a project, go deep rather than wide—focus on making one or two projects thorough rather than scattering your efforts across five. Even class projects, like those from STAT 107, can be valuable additions to your resume. I suggest using Jake’s resume template as it is very common in industry.

Finding Ways to Stand Out

With so many applicants for each job posting, standing out is crucial. As a freshman, I learned about Research Park in Champaign, a technology hub with companies offering internships exclusively for UIUC students. For freshmen and sophomores, this type of program is ideal because many places tend to favor juniors and seniors. Rather than wasting time applying to postings with strict requirements, I focused on Research Park, attending open houses, career fairs, and info sessions. This approach landed me multiple interviews and ultimately a data science internship at Country Financial for the summer! Freshman and sophomore years are also perfect times to explore company specific programs, like information sessions or summits. Some companies even fly students out to their offices for these events! In my sophomore year, I applied to a hackathon for JP Morgan and got in. Working with other CS majors from around the country, I built an application for a nonprofit in just 24 hours. That experience ultimately led to a software engineering internship at JP Morgan, all without a traditional interview. So, beyond the roles themselves, look for hackathons, information sessions, and summits that can boost your visibility and get your foot in the door.

Network, Network, Network

Networking can be one of your biggest assets in the internship search. Building connections with employees at companies you’re interested in can lead to referrals, giving you a huge leg up. Use LinkedIn and Handshake to connect with employees and recruiters who might be able to help. Career fairs are also great networking opportunities if you go with a plan. Make a list of companies you want to talk to, know what you want to discuss, and prioritize those connections. This approach helped me secure multiple interviews and saved time by focusing on meaningful conversations rather than aimlessly wandering from booth to booth.

It’s a marathon, not a sprint. 

Finding the right internship took persistence—balancing schoolwork, personal projects, and application deadlines isn’t easy. I constantly revised my resume and kept practicing my technical skills, and it paid off with offers in data science and software engineering. But if you don’t land an internship, don’t worry. There are so many alternatives, like research or taking the summer to build your skills through projects or courses.

Why Internships Are Worthwhile

Internships give you real-world experience and the chance to work in teams in ways that classes don’t. They helped me grow technically and developed my skills as a collaborator and communicator. Especially as we spend so much time doing things like projects and studying individually and for ourselves, internships are a great way to learn what it is like to work for something else. An internship is one of the most valuable steps you can take to build your career path, and I wish you the best of luck in your internship search!