Connecting with students

Zohar and Polly reducedToday I met Zohar Strinka, a PhD student at the University of Michigan in Industrial and Operations Engineering who participated in the INFORMS Professional Colloquium (IPC). The Analytics Society decided to support the IPC, which is aimed at students interested in practice, with both funding and an offer to match the 21 students with mentors to help them navigate anything from the conference to their career. I met with Zohar and enjoyed our conversation, because she had done her homework and asked good questions. There’s so much you don’t know about professional life until you are it that living it that having anyone shed a little light along the way is helpful. I have been appreciative of those who held the light out for me in the past and was glad to do the same. In fact, if you see a student I encourage you to shine your own light. A little goes a long way.