Faces were smiling, on February 17, 2009, when math alumna, Jessica Ogarek (2006), along with fellow alums Alison Timm (2006), Sarah Lupa (2006), and Hannah Kimball (2007), returned to 300 The Fenway to share with current math students their graduate school and on-the-job experiences since graduating from Simmons.
Alison just completed a Master of Arts in Statistics at Boston University this past December, while Jessica works at John Snow, Inc., an international health care consulting firm based in Boston. Sarah, who was featured in last month's blog, teaches seventh grade math at the Memorial Boulevard School in Bristol, Connecticut. Hannah, like Sarah, earned her Master of Arts in Teaching from Simmons. She teaches fifth grade math at the Cyrus E. Dallin Elementary School in Arlington, Massachusetts.
Undergraduates were delighted at the diversity of math fields chosen by our talented alums; and, they were impressed by the evident enthusiasm which each alumna showed for her field! The following picture of Alison, Jessica, Sarah, and Hannah is a memento of our recent event:
In this month's blog we sketch a mathematical portrait of Jessica Ogarek. Jessica double-majored in Communications and Mathematics. An internship, in spring semester of her senior year, turned into a full-time job .... and an unexpected career! Please meet Jessica.
Jessica Ogarek, B.S. in Communications and Mathematics, 2006
How did you end up in math, Jessica?
I came to Simmons completely undecided. The reason I majored in math was because I took Calculus II with you! I was doing well and you encouraged me to take Discrete Mathematics the following semester ... and then Linear Algebra, next. At first I thought I would just minor in math. Then, because I'd already taken a ton of Communications courses, I realized I had time to do a math major, too. You wrote me a complete schedule, and I followed it!
What did you think you wanted to do with a degree in math?
I had absolutely no idea, at first. I was a Teaching Assistant in the Communications Department for video production and also for communications media. I was moving more in the video production direction. Once I got an internship at John Snow, Inc. (JSI) and began working in public health, I realized there's more to the world than holding a camera in your hand.
What have you been doing since leaving Simmons? How does the math you learned at Simmons impact you on a daily basis?
I use statistics almost on a daily basis. I'm constantly looking at data output and thinking about what it means. I find that having both a mathematics and communications background gives me a dual perspective on problem-solving, which is a great advantage.
After graduating from Simmons in May 2006, I continued interning at JSI and then got hired as a full-time staff associate. I've been working on many different projects. One example is the Infertility Prevention Project (IPP), a project funded by the Center for Disease Control that promotes chlamydia and gonorrhea screening and treatment and treatment for women. This is a national project that's divided into the 10 public health regions. My primary focus is on data management and database development, but my communications background helped me to contribute to the project website development for the New England IPP region, Region I, too.
In another direction, I also work on projects for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH). I've done budget work for the HIV division, plus I got hired for the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program which developed the Try-To-Stop Smokers' Helpline. Try-To-Stop offers free telephone counseling to help people quit smoking, and sponsors periodic free-patch giveaway campaigns. The call center also handles QuitWorks, which is a provider referral program where patients are referred to be called and offered counseling. I work on state and health plan reporting (RI/MA/NH, separately), where I developed an Access reporting database. I also assisted in testing the new Oracle online database.
For the last year and a half I've been taking courses at the SAS Institute, in the Prudential Center, to learn more about databases and statistical analyses.
What's absorbing you right now, and what are your plans for the near future?
I'm passionate about all my projects, especially projects on HIV. But the Tobacco Control Program really hits close to home because I have family members who have suffered from emphysema. What I'd like to do next is earn a Master's in Biostatistics.
Do you have any advice for alumna?
I'd just urge everyone to get out of their comfort zone, and try something new. For me, I put myself out there when I chose to work in public health. It's been an unbelievably rewarding experience, one that I never imagined!
Do you have any questions for Jessica or about this blog? If so, please write!
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