Grace Li
What's your major and hometown?
Second-year Economics and Data Science. I'm from Shanghai. I live in Shanghai right now.
Why did you choose Data Science?
I feel like Data Science is a pretty necessary tool, regardless of which field you'll enter after you graduate. And I also feel like it's a good balance because I'm double majoring in Econ and Data Science. So it has the technical side and also the social science side. To be honest, it's also because CS is a little bit too difficult, and data science is slightly easier.
What's a fun fact about yourself?
I gained 15 pounds during the quarantine.
What are your hobbies and interests?
Playing the guitar.
How did you find out about SAAS?
I have a friend who joined SAAS; he was a freshman when he joined. He joined Career Exploration and then he became Career Exploration director. He's also similar to me in that we both did not learn any CS or stats or data science in high school. So we were just entering Berkeley with all this pressure. He said that SAAS was a really great place where he met lots of people who also share interests in stats and data science and also that it's a very friendly environment.
What SAAS committees have you been in?
I was in CX first semester and now I'm CX director this semester.
What's it like being a CX director?
It's pretty good, but I will say it's just unfortunate that everything is virtual. Also, I live in a very different time zone so I cannot go to many socials and meetings.
What's your proudest accomplishment in SAAS?
I am most proud of the project we completed at the end of CX last semester. Everything was brand new to me. I was able to apply these seemingly complicated concepts such as linear regression and machine learning into a real data science problem which we solved.
What is the most important SAAS value to you?
I would say it's community because back when everything was still in person, the first few weeks last semester, I was really able to make lots of friends. In Career Exploration, we have different family groups which I really enjoyed and these people became my community.
What is your favorite Berkeley class and professor?
CS 61A and John DeNero.
What is your favorite Berkeley memory?
Taking a nap on Memorial Glade
Favorite spot in Berkeley?
The fire trail going from Clark Kerr. Also the Clark Kerr dining hall.
Favorite place to study?
Unit 3 lounge - you never get bored!
Prettiest building on campus?
Hearst Memorial Mining Building
Do you have any internships right now?
Yes! I intern for WeWork right now. I help them within their strategy and operations department. Honestly, it's mostly doing work on Excel. We analyze sales forecasts and sales goals. It's pretty cool!
Are there any TV shows/movies that you are currently into?
I've been binge watching Umbrella Academy lately. Season 2 just came out so I'm excited to watch it!