A co-worker once admitted to me he was envious of my work-ethic and ability to concentrate on my goals despite the obstacle. He told me that my thirst for knowledge, ambition for success and time management skills were both awe-inspiring and the initial motivator he needed to start improving his own life. I still think about that compliment. Hi! I’m Darwin and I yearn to not only succeed, but to help the community around me become exceptional performers.However, my ideals weren’t always like this. For the first few years of college I would most accurately be described as the definition of a “sub-optimal” performer. It wasn’t until the end of my fourth year that I yearned to be more than what I was. I clawed my way upwards, fighting through the issues of homelessness, paying for schooling and breaking bad habits. Little by little I overcame my obstacles and replaced the bad habits with productive ones. Before I knew it, I had garnered the respect of both my peers and professors. My peers were coming to me for help! It was around this time that I found a topic that furthered my passion to help others, Data Analytics. I became an undergraduate researcher at Cal Poly for Physics Education. I analyzed datasets using R, Excel and Python to create the foundation of several projects that aim to improve student learning through assessment and improvement of current instructional techniques and the development of new ones. As I move towards the end of my time as I student I continue to refine my knowledge in the tools that have allowed me to participate in projects that benefit the community around me. It has become my dream to work for a company that cares about the community and I plan on contributing to this company by analyzing datasets to help the company make better business decisions and/or policies.If you want to chat about any projects you have that have benefited the community around you (or you want to talk about tennis and Stanislas Wawrinka’s monster backhand), I would love to get in touch!