Class of 2025

Previous Degree: Bachelor of Technology, Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Shiv Nadar University
Program: MDS Vancouver, Class of 2025

When I was in my third year of my bachelor’s degree, I quickly realized how data science was becoming pivotal in every industry. With the advent of modern GPUs and computing power, I felt it was only a matter of time before everyone joined this bandwagon. What excited me the most was the possibility of applying data science across industries helping companies succeed through data-driven insights and, at the same time, learning about different domains along the way.

About Dhruv Garg

After completing his Bachelor of Technology, Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Shiv Nadar University, Dhruv was working as a data scientist in India for a couple of US-based startups. Dhruv’s experiences gave him exposure to different facets of the data science field. Dhruv wanted a more formal education in data science to deepen his understanding of core concepts and found the balance between practical skills and theory that MDS offered was exactly what he was looking for. When not in MDS, Dhruv enjoys going to the gym, swimming, running and hiking as well reading Manga. Read Dhruv’s story.

Previous Degree: Master’s of Speech Language Pathology from McGill University
Program: MDS Computational Linguistics, Class of 2025

As a linguistics expert of sorts, I wanted to take my existing expertise and apply it in a more ‘big picture’ kind of way; data science felt like a perfect fit because it allows me to apply language science to large-scale problems and their solutions. 

About Tim Christilaw

Tim Christilaw has a Master’s of Speech Language Pathology from McGill University and was working as a speech pathologist when he was starting to feel burn out and looking for a change. Tim saw the MDS Computational Linguistics program as a way to take his linguistics background and bridge that to the data science and technology industry. Outside of MDS Computational Linguistics, Tim enjoys board games, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: the Gathering, movies, skateboarding, mixing cocktails, and cooking! Read Tim’s story.

Previous Degree: Bachelor of Science, Cognitive Neuroscience - Literature/Writing & Design Minor from UC San Diego
Program: MDS Computational Linguistics, Class of 2025

While working on large-scale translation projects, I kept thinking about all the untapped potential in the language data I was organizing. I wanted to analyze, model, and build with it, not just collect it. The idea of computational linguistics—using data science and machine learning to understand and create with language—felt like the missing link. When I discovered MDS Computational, it was immediately clear this was the path I’d been looking for: a place where my love of language and my interest in math, logic, and programming could finally come together.

About Nicole Lopez

Before starting the MDS Computational Linguistics program, Nicole spent three years as a content designer in San Diego, working on digital products ranging from mortgage payment applications to diabetes management tools at Dexcom. During her time at Dexcom, Nicole found herself managing large translation projects, collecting and organizing massive amounts of company language data. Nicole found that the MDS Computational Linguistics program combined her love of language and her interest in math, logic, and programming. Outside of MDS Computational Linguistics, Nicole is a SCUBA instructor and triathlete (fun fact: Nicole completed a half-iron man one month into the program). A San Diego-native, Nicole took advantage of all that Vancouver had to offer from skiing at Cypress, going trail running, and attending local live music events and film festivals. Read Nicole’s story.
 

Previous Degree: Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of British Columbia About Stephanie Ta
Program: MDS Vancouver, Class of 2025

My desire to contribute to the community, particularly in healthcare, aligned with my ambition to pursue the MDS program. I envision applying data-driven solutions to streamline onboarding processes, enhance volunteer management, and mitigate the effects of staffing shortages. My goal is to utilize the skills and knowledge acquired through the MDS program to drive positive change and improve the overall efficiency and quality of healthcare services.

About Stephanie Ta

Stephanie completed her Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of British Columbia in 2024. During her bachelor’s, Ta took DSCI 100 and 310, and completed UBC Extended Learning’s “Key Capabilities in Data Science Certificate” program. This coursework confirmed how much Ta enjoyed learning and applying data science, and MDS felt like the right next step to build on those skills.  Outside of MDS, Ta loves to knit, go bouldering, or hiking. Read Stephanie’s story.