Claire Wang
Since you're a returning member, I wanted to ask: why did you decide to stay in SAAS?
...what makes [SAAS] great is the mentorship you get obviously from the committee leaders. Also, I think just because SAAS is very socially strong. If you like something, no matter what it is, you're going to find somebody else who is also interested in that thing.
How has SAAS helped you with your career and professional development? Like helping you decide on career paths, learning new skills, things like that.
I think the professional development advisors have been hugely helpful with that aspect. We’ve had the recruitment workshops last year which really taught me a lot about the recruiting process like timelines and delineations of what fields you want to go into, like the type A Type B kind of thing. And coffee chatting with, specifically Kavin, because I had never really heard of product management as a real tech-oriented field so it was nice to hear his experience and I'm really glad that all the advisors are so open and willing to give us advice and guidance.
What's your favorite spot to study on campus?
My room because I cannot fathom how anybody manages to do their homework without dual monitors.
Favorite boba shop and go-to boba order?
I actually don't drink boba or any kind of caffeine or tea. I think it’s a bit of a cult and I am lucky to not have indoctrinated it. My wallet thanks me as well.
No caffeine at all?
No, I run on pure adrenaline.
Okay, what's your favorite drink then. Or do you just only like water?
I will occasionally be tempted by Caprisun but that's about it.
Are you a Pacific Cooler or a Strawberry Kiwi?
Strawberry Kiwi. I wasn't even aware that this was a debate. Strawberry Kiwi is just so top tier.
Do you have anything else you want to talk about? What's something really interesting about you?
Oh yeah, there's a host of foods I have not eaten like I just never had them. I don't eat them not because I'm disgusted by them, I just have literally never come across an opportunity to eat one. Like mangoes, avocados, persimmons, plums. I’ve also never had tacos.
What about music taste?
I'm into a really specific niche genre that I'm pretty sure has a lot of mainstream appeal but I like to think of it as niche. I described it as Spotify in melancholy. Just think of what Niall Horan has been doing since he left One Direction, it's just like that genre of Spotify music.
What do you want to do in the future? What kind of job do you think data science is going to lead you to, or do you have any idea?
For me, I'm really interested in media and how media perpetuates and challenges these social norms that we have as well as reflects what we as a society are thinking at any given time. So for me, I want to go into data analytics at a publishing company, like taking the sales data of what people are reading and buying and then using that to make decisions about, you know, the next big movements in fantasy or what people want at any specific time from their media.
If you could do any job in the world, would this be it or would you choose something else? Nothing else matters, just your job, what do you want to do?
When I was little, I wanted to be the person who refills the airplane gasoline at the airport between flights. And then I wanted to be the person who drove the golf cart around for the Olympians, that was my next great ambition. And most recently, I would want to be a college admissions officer. I don't want to say it's a power trip, but it would just be interesting to be able to parse through all these applications and then make judgment calls about them. But I also feel like it would be super heartbreaking. You go to bat for a bunch of these kids and then you really feel like you know them and then they don't get in and you know it's going to be a bit devastating for them.
Do you do any other sports besides hiking?
Yeah, I used to play a lot of badminton. I used to be nationally ranked number six in singles. Past Claire had much more personality than present Claire.
What do you want to let the fans know, Claire?
I have a personality besides punting pigeons and not liking Sliver.