A STATISTICIAN’S LIFE
A Day in the Life of an
Undergraduate Statistical
Consultant
Seth Huiras, Kate Virkler, and Lizzy Zahn
A breakfast meeting of the CIR research
team. In the back row, from left, is Ryan
Sheppard (assistant professor of sociology),
Lizzy Zahn, and Kate Virkler. The front row
includes, from left, Paul Roback (associate
professor of statistics) and Seth Huiras.
I
t is out of the ordinary for undergraduate
social science students to receive statistical
consulting on academic research projects.
Furthermore, it is unusual for the consultants to
be undergraduate statistics students. This past
academic year, however, both opportunities came
together at St. Olaf College.
St. Olaf is a small liberal arts college in Northfield,
Minnesota, that prides itself on interdisciplin-
ary studies and service to others. One of the pro-
grams offered toward that mission is the Center for
Interdisciplinary Research (CIR), funded through a
grant from the National Science Foundation. Each
year, the CIR fellowship supports 18–24 under-
graduate, upper-level statistics students working
SEPTEMbER 2009 AMSTAT NEwS 47
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