The first Data Analytics Competition at Towson University closed a successful competition period on Friday, Nov. 20. This was the second of two rounds; the first round having closed Oct. 31. The late November Zoom session brought together the contestants who passed Round 1 and ended with an announcement of winners.
A team of graphic design majors, Javonquay Montgomery, Genesis Smith and Brooke Walter, took first place, winning an award of $2,500. In second place, Ruyi Patel and Yuqi Wan won an award totaling $1,500, and Dante Steele took third place winning a $1,000 prize.
The Data Analytics Competition is unique among College of Business and Economics (CBE) competitions since any major and degree seeker can participate in the competition. Students with various backgrounds and talents have room for creativity when it comes to their final reports.
Stella Tomasi, associate professor of business analytics and technology, said “students of all disciplines should be able to analyze data to make intelligent decisions.”
This pioneer competition proves that TU students are capable of thriving in interdisciplinary industry spaces. And the field of data analytics is only at the beginning of its period of projected growth.
“The Data Analytics Competition presented many challenges that forced me to hone in on my creative thinking and problem solving skills,” says Steele, an accounting major.
While working with data is not new to those studying accounting, “accountants being uncreative is a misconception,” Steele says. “We have various projects that depend on us having a diverse skill set to tackle obstacles.”
That diverse skill set helped Steele take third place.
Although the competition was new to the CBE, it brought in a wave of 50 registered teams, only 15 of which were advanced to complete the first round of the competition. The ten finalist teams that presented during the second round of the competition included students that spanned across the four colleges of TU.
Among such a diversely talented group of students, Steele said “it was an honor to be chosen among the top three.”