My name is Miriam Burch and I live in Northern Virginia, although I was born and raised in Brussels, Belgium. I’m also half Spanish because my mother is from Barcelona and have been traveling to Spain each summer to visit my Spanish side of the family ever since I was born. Living in the French side of Belgium, I grew up speaking four languages at home; French, Spanish, English, and Catalan and continued to learn these all throughout my academic life, incorporating a bit of German in High School as well. Ever since I was young, I’ve always had an interest in current affairs and the study of different cultures around the world. Having spent the majority of my summers in Spain, I developed a keen interest in boats and have now been sailing for 13 years. Aside from sailing, my family and I have always been extremely adventurous and we love to explore different countries within Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Academically, I’m majoring in international relations through the William and Mary St Andrews Joint Degree Programme and have an interest in learning how culture, politics and economics impact the global system. I also have a huge passion for environmental sustainability as I believe that it is one of the most important responsibilities we as humans have nowadays. Looking ahead, I’m still not sure what I want to pursue as my main career; however, I would love to begin by volunteering in the Peace Corps, immersing myself in a community abroad and working hand in hand with the locals, assisting undeveloped countries both socially and economically.

I’m not very familiar with data science, which is why I decided to take this course; however, based on what I’ve learned so far, my understanding of the term is that it’s a field that uses algorithms, scientific methods and artificial intelligence in order to extract knowledge and incorporate it into our everyday lives. I believe that it can be harnessed to improve the lives of people and is used in our day-to-day lives through healthcare, entertainment, internet search, online shopping, etc. Even airline planning is possible because of data science, as the airlines gather data from the past and attempt to improve the outcomes for the future. Google is also something we use daily that is composed mainly from data science. All their features, products and services within the technology company, such as Alexa, are able to function because these technological programs have analyzed data and used them to create algorithms in order for these personal assistants to have the ability to give you directions, place orders, or even tell you what the weather is like that morning. Data science has improved our quality of life by giving us the opportunity to purchase items and receive them the next day, easily find a movie on Netflix, speak to our devices, or even identify illnesses/diseases before they are even treated. These are all privileges that many around the world still don’t have access to; however, even in least developed countries, data science has made a significant impact over the past couple of years, as technology advances and allows scientists to analyze and improve living conditions, healthcare, water shortages, environmental issues and the education system in a more cheap and efficient method. In the countries most developed, it has given us the freedom to search the web and give us access to information all around the world.