Russ Stocker - Ph.D. 2004
Mississippi State University

 

Jamie McGee - M.S. 2002
Colonial Life & Accident

Bonnie Kegan
2001 M.S. in Statistics
University of South Carolina

Mathematical Statistician
U.S. Census Bureau

Advisor: Dr. Webster West
Thesis Title: Modeling the Simple Epidemic with Random Differential Equations

Previous Degree: 1998 B.S. Biochemistry - University of Maryland, Baltimore County


Bonnie and her daughter Jada
In my search for a graduate school, the thing that stood out most about USC's Statistics Department was the faculty. Prior to making my decision I wanted to visit the school and to meet the faculty members. The graduate director at the time was, Dr. Edwards, and he set up my visit so that I could see the school and get one-on-one time with each of the faculty members. What most impressed me was the welcome my daughter and I received. My daughter was three at the time and toys and games had been brought in to entertain her at each faculty member's office I visited. Unlike some schools, USC has faculty that are both good researchers and good teachers. They are as dedicated to their teaching as they are to their research. The faculty was always available and willing to discuss problems with assignments. Additionally there is a broad range of research interests in the department.

As a graduate student at USC I had more than just classes to prepare me for my career. As an assistant in the Consulting Lab I had the opportunity to get involved with real data and statistical problems from many different subject areas. More opportunity for "hands-on" learning was provided by the 2 credits of consulting that were required. Another experience at USC I enjoyed was teaching undergraduate statistics with a lab session (Stat 201). I am still teaching college statistics part-time and I have adapted a few of the lab activities for use in my classroom. At USC, I was exposed to several statistical programming packages, including SAS, Splus, SPSS, and Minitab. I learned the most about SAS, through a Statistical Programming course and by using it for homework assignments in most of my courses. In my career with the Census Bureau, I use SAS on a daily basis, so it was very helpful to have had such a good foundation. The good balance between theory and application in the Masters of Statistics program at USC overall prepared me very well for my career.