Elena Smith is a Data Engineer at McDonald's. Colleagues describe her as "I had the pleasure to work with Elena on a data visualization project during the Master of Science in Analytics program. Elena was a valuable member to the team and was very pleasant to work with. Besides her great data skills in SQL and R, I would like to highlight her unique strength in identifying business problems and story-telling with data. She identified that the 30-minute ride limit was the primary concern for most Divvy Bikes users, which became the focus and selling-point of our visualization analysis. During the project presentation, she introduced our design principles and demonstrated the dashboard in a way that was easy to understand and engaging, which effectively conveyed our results to the audience.", "Elena Smith is one of the finest professionals with whom I've had the privilege to work. Although she was still a sophomore in college when I hired her at the Getty Research Institute, she demonstrated exceptional insight and resourcefulness, and she far exceeded expectations in terms of the technical knowledge that her summer project required. It is an understatement to say that her expertise and aptitude were indispensable to the success of the project. She is personally and professionally enthusiastic, energetic, curious, and dedicated. I am grateful that she's shown the professionalism to have kept me informed of her progress throughout her college career and beyond.", and "It is my pleasure to write a letter of reference for Elena Smith. Elena has worked in my office for the past four years as a Tech Intern contributing greatly to the overall design, content and usability of Swarthmore College’s Career Services website. Elena’s attention to detail and work ethic are superb. Her precision with ensuring that our web content is accurate, consistent, and visually appealing has made the Career Services website one of the most visited sites at the college. Elena’s defining characteristic is that she is able to both see the big picture on a project as well as implement the finer details. Elena has worked independently on complex projects and provided constructive recommendations to our staff regarding our website, our resources for students, and process improvements for our technical services. For example, each semester Elena analyzed the usage of our website and provided recommendations on trends and areas for improvement. Moreover, Elena has amazing organizational skills. Elena took a very complex, outdated website and conceptualized a new method of organizing the information into an easy to use dynamic format. Elena seeks to continually improve our website as well as her own skill set. For example, Elena initiated a project where she refined images on our website so that they looked more polished and professional. Likewise in her own professional development, she enrolled in an additional course to hone her grantwriting skills, despite an already full academic load and two campus jobs. Elena has exceptional communication skills. As a writer and editor, Elena ensures that Swarthmore constituencies including students, employers, and alumni receive a positive impression of our services through the language of our website. During her time as a Tech Intern, Elena trained two other interns. She communicated complex technical information in a manner that was easily understood by individuals with varying levels of technical knowledge. Elena took time out of her busy schedule to work additional hours ensuring that the other interns were knowledgeable about their duties. Elena is thoughtful, insightful and wise beyond her years. A major accomplishment of Elena’s was the creation of an online platform for students to share internships with their peers. From concept to the final product, Elena thought through the best way for students to share this information with one another. She managed the development of this platform, built it, trained the staff, and provided recommendations on how to best use the site in the future. Elena has my highest regard and highest recommendation. Any organization fortunate enough to hire her will be thrilled with her commitment to the position, her professionalism, and her contribution to furthering the mission of the organization. I would be delighted to provide any further details upon request."