Perspective. That was the missing piece.
Sean Holt, ‘10 began thinking about problem-solving in new ways while working at a nonprofit for a year in Laos building hygienic facilities and schools in the most rural and difficult-to-access regions of the country. The root of nearly any problem, Sean learned, can be addressed by improved communication, education, or by understanding peoples’ perspectives. Sean states, “Communication and education are barriers that, while significant, can be tackled with effort on the part of everyone involved. But you can never fully step into the perspective of another person, no matter how hard you try. That is, I believe, the piece that’s missing from, or inadequate in, many efforts to solve problems.” And with this burgeoning understanding, Sean decided to return to college, study mathematics, and devote himself to data science - an area that offers a set of tools Sean believes increases our ability to understand and accommodate different perspectives.
“Laos was a turning point for me. It helped me...well, maybe forced me, to accept my privilege and also appreciate the work that needs to be done to make things better. Through that experience, I found my “why” which led me to channel my energy into a laser-focused drive to gain the knowledge and skills needed to make the world a better place,” says Sean. With his newfound “why” and belief that big data was key to understanding different perspectives, Sean had a reason to return to and thrive in academics. First at Quest University as a Mathematics major, where he wrote an honors thesis that was recommended for distinction, and then at Case Western Reserve University where he earned an M.S. in Management- Business Analytics.
Sean has begun to put his data science skills to work. He cut his teeth at Wiland, a marketing cooperative that analyzes customer and purchasing behavior provided by thousands of companies. Here, Sean created a new proprietary data solution that aggregated the data with one's social media data to rank affinity to purchase for most niches in the American economy. “This wasn’t really helping the world itself,” admits Sean, “but it allowed me to get my hands on some of the best data around and work on a project that was designed specifically to focus on generating behavioral segments (or clusters). This is exactly the type of thing I will need to do to overcome perspective issues when solving world problems that are more personally meaningful to me.” Now Sean works for Nutrien, the largest farming organization in the world. Nutrien provides expertise and products to help farmers around the world maximize crop yield while still focusing on sustainability. Sean’s current project involves identifying the primary data segments of farmer personalities, purchasing behaviors, and general needs based on their demographic, psychographic, and historical information. “This,” Sean says, “is an example of using data science to understand other peoples’ perspectives and solve problems. The foundational understanding that I’m building of farmers’ perspectives will enable our Nutrien team to more effectively communicate with our farmer clients. Through this, they can offer better recommendations and products, enabling farmers to be more sustainable and effective with their land, while still producing the food our world needs.”
Sean is putting his data science skills to use in the nonprofit sector, too. He’s been a volunteer at the Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center since early 2019 and recently joined their Board of Directors. Most of the animals Greenwood receives are orphans that are brought in across the state from Pueblo to the Wyoming border. The facility helps rehabilitate baby birds, injured waterfowl, and small mammals like squirrels, rabbits, and raccoons. Sean says, “Greenwood is a special place where volunteers are still able to directly interact with the animals being brought in. I can say, there is probably nothing cuter than feeding a baby bunny or squirrel. These little guys deserve to live just as much as the rest of us and I am very proud that Greenwood stands up for them and supports them.” Recently, Sean began helping Greenwood to also establish and advance their digital/data efforts. “The goal is to better support their finances and also to start tracking wildlife/injury patterns in the local area. Hopefully, this will allow us to work with communities that are having higher accident rates and bring down animal-related injuries through education and policy. This is an area where my data science tools really come in handy.”
How has Watershed influenced Sean?
“I think that for me, it might be best summed up as ‘Guts’. While Watershed did its best to encourage me to find my ‘why’ and harness my drive to want to find solutions to the world's problems, I wasn’t quite ready for that yet,” says Sean. “What Watershed really did, though, was lay the groundwork for me to get there on my own time. First, Watershed instilled in me a love for adventure and the skills and confidence to go on my own adventures. Second, Watershed taught me to critically reflect on experiences and contemplate multiple world perspectives. Love of adventure, skills, confidence, reflection - all of this gave me the guts I needed. The guts to go to Laos, the guts to rethink my worldly assumptions/perspectives- to find my ‘why’, the guts to continue to push forward with mathematics even when it was stupid hard and painful. Throw into that mix Pablo, one of the most patient, kind, and wise role models I could have had, and you get the impact of Watershed for me.”
