8. Benjamin Levy - From Science and Philosophy to Data Scientist
Ben's biggest rule for education has been to “hack your degree” - taking the time to think thoughtfully and systematically about how he spent his years of undergraduate education. This began from when he chose his undergraduate program in life sciences at Victoria College, to his consistent involvement with the Hart House Debate Team, which he connects deeply to data science as both mediums of persuasion. TEDxUofT is a big part of our talk - and he had many TED talk recommendations for us. When Ben experienced a turning point learning data science and statistics through computational application at Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, he positioned himself for a career in data science while using his existing humanities, social sciences, and sciences background as a strength. We speak about his continued self-initiating tendencies while at Harvard, publishing articles, and engaging in scientific communication independently.