Tell me about yourself! What is your professional background?
I’ve been with Penn State since October 2014. Originally, I joined the business intelligence team in the IT sector, but then in 2019 that team was adopted by OPAIR and became an integral part of OPAIR. I’ve always been interested in business intelligence. My personal line of work has always revolved around data; specifically, around data structures and reporting.
Tell me about your job with OPAIR. What do your job duties include?
I started with OPAIR as a data architect and metadata developer on the Data Management team; my current role is metadata team lead. I’m a business intelligence professional specializing in data architecture, data analysis, data modeling, and reporting. In a nutshell, I organize data into data models that translate complex data into more accessible and usable forms. I focus primarily on making data structures for Penn State enterprise reporting applications such as OBIEE (iTwo) and Power BI.
What does your day-to-day look like?
My day-to-day always depends on the current project I’m working on. Usually, it’s centered around creating data models that attend to business needs and enhance Penn State’s data architecture. This usually includes some elements of data analysis and data modeling: logical, physical, or dimensional. It’s also about defining standards and making recommendations based on how data should best be structured.
What is your favorite part of your job? Are there any projects you’re currently working on that you’re excited about?
I’m excited about our team’s current work on the OPAIR-RADAR SharePoint site. The site will serve as a central resource combining information from the OPAIR website, iTwo, and the on-premise Institutional Data Repository (IDR) database. These efforts should allow the Penn State community to analyze data more easily and share insights from the data that originated from the PSU’s ERP systems (LionPath, WorkLion) along with official data that support University compliance and reporting needs, such as IPEDS, AAUDE, DEIB, and the Data Digest.
How would you say Penn State has helped you reach your professional goals?
My primary professional goals are to keep moving forward and to always be learning something new, and my current position is letting me do just that. I appreciate how creative my job can be, and how it forces me to think outside the box. It really demands me to learn new things and be flexible. From my perspective, being able to grow in my job keeps it very exciting and helps me attain these professional goals.