From Undergraduate Student Researcher to EdTech Founder

As we are approaching a new fall semester, at SightLine we are reflecting on some of the most impactful experiences we had as college students. My on-campus jobs allowed me to test out new ideas and experiences which led me to what I truly enjoy doing — problem solving with data.

Coincidentally, we have found through data analysis that student employment is one of the highest indicators of student retention and high graduation rates. I wanted to share some of my experiences working on campus that may shed some light on opportunities for students in the coming academic year.

When I was a college student at Michigan Technological University, I heard of other undergraduate students talking about being employed at the university paleomagnetism research lab. As a second-year student, I had no idea what paleomagnetism was, and honestly still don’t, but other geological engineering students in my department were working in the lab. By word of mouth, I learned there was a new job opening.

All I had to do was meet with the professor who was the principal investigator and let them know I was interested and willing to learn. I just had to show up which turned out to be the most important step.

Shortly after I began my on-the-job training. I was following established processes in the lab, so if I could follow instructions consistently, my prior experience level was not too critical. The lead professor and the research graduate students went out of their way to teach me about the underlying theory, goals of their research, and even data analysis methods that were unique to this field.

As a result, I had employment through the school year and nearly full-time employment during the summer. Being able to stay in Houghton, MI during the summers was the best benefit!

I had the opportunity for my first field experience in Ontario, Canada at our research site at the Coldwell Complex along the northern shore of Lake Superior. During the same trip, I presented my first research poster at the 58th Annual Meeting of the Institute of Lake Superior Geology, named Paleomagnetism of the Coldwell Complex (Ontario, Canada): New Data and New Insights. All thanks to the lead researchers and post-doctorate student that walked me through the science and research process.

Later in my college career, I changed my major to statistics and found the opportunity to apply my new statistics and predictive modeling learnings to a different subject within geological engineering. By that time, I understood that these opportunities were not usually posted on a job board. I spent time looking into different research groups at Michigan Tech and made an effort to reach out.

I was very fortunate to join a research group that focused on remote sensing for evaluating hazards following wildfires, particularly inducing landslides. This research was performed in collaboration with the United States Department of Transportation, the University of Arkansas, Michigan Technological University, and Idaho State University.

This experience resulted in my first conference presentation at the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists Annual Meeting and my first scientific, peer reviewed publication. Machine Learning Based Predictive Modeling of Debris Flow Probability Following Wildfire in the Intermountain Western United States.

These experiences taught me about the overall research and peer review process, collaboration across organizations and higher-ed institutions, and the importance of giving credit to others in the research community.

My recommendations for students, are to ask questions, network within and outside of your department, and don’t be afraid to jump in on a new opportunity. Remember that you are a student so no-one expects too much so it doesn’t hurt to try something new!

Of course, this goes out with a huge thank you to those at Michigan Tech who gave me these opportunities and surprisingly paid me. I am forever grateful to Dr. Aleksey Smirnov, Dr. Evgeniy Kulakov, and Dr. Thomas Oommen for the opportunities and the time they spent explain and re-explaining their research to me. Even though I am not working in the field of geology now, these research experiences helped prepare me for the challenges of starting my own research and founding SightLine. I hope that SightLine serves students as well as these amazing research groups at Michigan Tech have.

Ashley Kern, Founder and CEO

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.