My favorite class at Webster University was synthetic biology, where I was first introduced to code and logic. I had built my own computers since I was in middle school, but this was a whole new way of thinking. I graduated with a biology degree, but ended up working in a bakery. After an unsuccessful job hunt in St. Louis, I realized I needed to take some risks. I took a wild shot and filled up my tiny miata and drove cross country in the hopes of finding gainful employment. Within a month of arriving in San Francisco I had met my wife, found a place for myself at University of California, San Francisco's (UCSF) environment, health, and safety (EHS) department, and discovered my passion for industrial hygiene, public health, and analytics.I was exposed to many types of data at UCSF which inspired me to learn better ways to handle it. I first studied R during my time as a program coordinator. When I returned to UCSF as an industrial hygienist, I began a full-time master's program in data science a year later. Due to circumstances in late 2019, I withdrew halfway through the program to focus on my work in public health. I then took another risk in my life by focusing full time on data science. Working as an industrial-hygienist/occupational-safety-specialist/exposure-scientist gave me the clarity of data science's potential to elevate the field. I am paving a path forward as an industrial hygienist and data scientist to utilize my accumulated skills, knowledge, and techniques in pursuit of better public health.