In partnership with the Data Science Institute at Vanderbilt, Women in Technology of Tennessee (WiTT) is excited to announce Sydney Simmons the inaugural recipient of the Vanderbilt Data Science Master’s Program Scholarship. This generous scholarship provides a 50% tuition scholarship for a female WiTT member who has been accepted into the Data Science master’s program at Vanderbilt.
“WiTT is proud to support the educational and career advancement of women in technology with this new scholarship, and Sydney Simmons is a very deserving recipient for this award,” said Elise Holmes, WiTT Scholarship Director.
Simmons spent the past five years in the Risk Management division of Morgan Stanley in New York. During that time, she saw real-world, consequential decisions being made from stress loss data and experienced the power of data analysis in shaping opinions and judgment, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Spurred by the power of data when effectively communicated, her curiosity eventually led her to apply for the Data Science Master’s Program at Vanderbilt and join WiTT to begin building connections within the Nashville community.
“Networking and community outreach are two pillars of the WiTT mission that resonate with me from my past experience, and I look forward to bringing into my future. I know that I cannot achieve my ambitious intentions without the technological skills I hope to gain at Vanderbilt and the community of supportive females that encourage networking and sharing opportunities that I hope to engage with through WiTT,” said Simmons.
The Data Science Master’s Program Scholarship is made possible through the Data Science Institute at Vanderbilt. The program is designed to be computationally intensive, with a focus on statistical principles while remaining accessible to students with broad educational backgrounds. The degree has a strong interdisciplinary flavor, encourages students to interact with faculty across campus and work with data on topics they are passionate about, and connects to Nashville’s growing data science emphasis in the health care and technology sectors.
“We look forward to seeing all that Sydney will accomplish during and after the completion of her data science master’s degree through the Data Science Institute at Vanderbilt,” said Holmes.
To date, WiTT has awarded over $200,000 in scholarship opportunities to help women returning to school, as well as high school and college girls, succeed in technology-related fields. For more information about this and other scholarships, visit the WiTT website.
About Vanderbilt’s Data Science Master’s Program
The data science master’s program at Vanderbilt University is designed to be computationally intensive, with a focus on statistical principles while remaining accessible to students with broad educational backgrounds. The degree has a strong interdisciplinary flavor, encourages students to interact with faculty across campus and work with data on topics they are passionate about, and connects to Nashville’s growing data science emphasis in the health care and technology sectors. To learn more about the program, visit the Data Science Institute website.
About WiTT
Women in Technology of Tennessee (WiTT) is a volunteer organization and community which equips women to shape the future of technology. Founded in 1999 as a small group of female leaders in the Nashville area, the organization has grown to include hundreds of members who seek to promote women in technology in four key areas: through scholarships, education, community outreach and networking. Thanks to its members, corporate sponsors and generous donations, WiTT has awarded over $200,000 in scholarships to advance the next generation of women tech leaders. To learn more, visit WiTT’s website and follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
