by Mya Brossoit

The College of Professional Programs is proud to highlight two student interns with the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis (IPPEA) in CPP at 51福利社, Kate Guadarrama-Diaz and Dylan Costinett.

The is a research institute that tracks community data trends and offers students hands-on experience with regional research, processing and reporting on community indicator data within Washington.

Kate Guadarrama-Diaz

Originally from Royal City Washington, Kate is now working towards her bachelor鈥檚 degree in Data Analytics in the School of Business at 51福利社. She plans to graduate by Spring of 2023.

When asked why she chose to study Data Analytics, Kate states that:

The program intersects my interest in analytics and visualization. I also liked that data analytics skills are applicable across many industries, from finance to healthcare to technology, making it a versatile career choice.

It was in her classes that she first encountered the programming software Python, having no prior experience with coding. She notes that the early exposure to coding language in her program has been 鈥渂eneficial for my professional growth as it has provided a foundation that has made it easier for me to learn other programming languages, such as R and SQL.鈥�

Like many students, Kate faced financial hardship as a first-generation college student.. She chose to attend 51福利社 due to its affordable tuition, but having grown up in a low-income family, Kate struggled to find a way to fully finance her education. Scholarships were a way to offset costs, and Kate applied for many scholarships. Her hard work paid off when she received funding through multiple scholarships including the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship, Paul Lauzier Scholarship, and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.

Kate recognizes the impact former staffer Sarahi Gutierrez from Chicana/o/x Studies had on her when she started at 51福利社. She notes how Sarahi 鈥済reatly enhanced my college experience…鈥� and was 鈥�…the first staff member with whom I established a personal connection. Their assistance was instrumental in my success in securing scholarships to fund my undergraduate degree. Without their guidance, I don’t think I would have been able to accomplish this.鈥�

When she isn鈥檛 in class or interning, Kate is a member of the Kappa Delta Chi Sorority, Inc, under the Diversified Greek Council, and currently serves as the chapter Vice President. Kate soars today as she pursues her dreams. She shares the career goals she hopes to achieve in her future:

I see myself being a Data Analyst in the Public Health or Healthcare industry. I want to collect and analyze data to strengthen a health program’s effectiveness in addressing community health issues.

As an IPPEA intern, Kate tells of the experience she has attained from the internship, starting in May of 2022:

I am confident that the insights and skills I gained during my internship will prove to be extremely valuable as I progress in my career. The internship allowed me to familiarize myself with industry-specific terminology, sharpen my critical thinking abilities, and grow professionally.

Dylan Costinett

After being raised in Bothell Washington, Dylan now works towards his degree in Data Science in the Math Program at 51福利社 and plans to graduate in June of 2023.

Dylan chose 51福利社 in part due to its affordability, but also because he liked the location and people on campus seemed friendly. Now as a student, he states, the people, 鈥渁re friendly and welcoming鈥�.

Heading into his first year of college, Dylan faced the challenge of being a student taking classes from home amidst the pandemic, and it impacted his motivation level.聽 He found that working a job at the same time as doing online school from home helped him in keeping a schedule and maintaining it.聽 Now, Costinett juggles classes in both Cheney and at the Catalyst Building in Spokane,聽 which is challenging especially when classes meet on the same day.

Yet, regardless of his circumstances Dylan demonstrated perseverance. He proactively sought solutions and rose above the trials at hand. By speaking with the Math and Science departments Costinett was able to find a balance between classes at both campuses that would set him up for success.

When asked about his time interning with IPPEA, Dylan shares how valuable it is to work in a professional environment.

Working in an office has been really enlightening. Learning how to optimize work has been really helpful and Excel and languages like SQL are [sic] something I expect to use a lot in the workforce.

Along with that, Dylan has had the privilege of working on professional projects with IPPEA. One project he specifically got to work on was updating the Association of Washington Business (AWB) website. The interns collect and input data and create short writeups for every county in the state.聽 He notes that since this is a massive enterprise, the interns created programming code using Python that will 鈥済enerate all the write ups we need in just a few seconds.鈥� The interns also just started a new project creating a trends site for Spokane 鈥渢hat will have some pretty fascinating indicators.鈥�

Dylan received a job offer to work for FAST Enterprises, in part due to his work with IPPEA, and plans to move east for the job after graduation, and is looking forward to it!

As the College of Professional Programs we proudly recognize Kate and Dylan for all their hard work and inspiring dedication!

Learn more:

Interested in interning with the IPPEA? Check it out .

Want to explore current IPPEA Community Trends projects? Click .

Want to check out the Data Analytics major? Check out here.

Spokane Trends website (managed by IPPEA). Click .

Want to subscribe to the Spokane Trends quarterly e-newsletter? Click here.

The College of Business recently recognized the following faculty members for excellence in teaching and research.

Trustee’s Medal Award

Elizabeth Tipton, PhD, professor of decision sciences (analytics) was honored with the Trustee’s Medal Award for the 2019-2020 academic year. The Trustee’s Medal Award is the university’s highest form of recognition for faculty achievement. The award honors teaching excellence, significant contributions to scholarship and research, and accomplishments in the development of academic programs and curriculums. The award consists of a silver medallion and a $1,500 cash prize from the 51福利社 Foundation.

Nikki Measor, who nominated Tipton for the award, noted that 鈥淪tudents love Beth. She is able to not only inspire curiosity, but also support students so that they can rise to the challenges of that curiosity.鈥� In the nearly 20 years that Tipton has been with Eastern, she has developed countless courses, served on university committees, served as interim associate dean and dean, and contributed to research in her field, while earning the admiration of colleagues and students alike. She was instrumental in developing our Data Analytics Program, and was the primary faculty member involved in the development of the Microsoft partnership. Tipton was recently recognized by her peers within the college when she was selected to receive our College of Business Excellence in Teaching Award. Her department Chair, Duanning Zhou mentioned her dedication to her students, noting that her office is often full of students asking questions or for help. To many of her students, Tipton is 鈥渕ore than a professor, she is a mentor and friend to all.鈥�

College of Business Excellence in Research Award

Duanning Zhou, PhD, professor of Management Information Systems, was awarded the College of Business in Research Award for 2019-2020. This award recognizes faculty for their outstanding intellectual contributions to the College of Business.

Zhou demonstrated his scholarship through the publication of 3 peer-reviewed articles and a book chapter during the past two years. Two of the articles were in top-tier journals in his discipline, a significant accomplishment. Publications include:

Xu, Y., Zhou, D. and Ma, J., (2019) 鈥淪cholar-friend recommendations in online academic communities: An approach based on heterogeneous network,鈥� Decision Support Systems, Vol. 119, pp. 1-13.

Xu, Y., Yin, D., and Zhou, D., (2019) 鈥淚nvestigating users鈥� tagging in online academic communities based on growth model differences between active and inactive users鈥�, Information Systems Frontiers, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 761-772,

Kenyon, G., Goldsmith, M., Neoreuther, B. and Zhou, D., (2018) 鈥淚mproving the return on investment in ports: Opportunities in Data Management鈥�, Maritime Economics & Logistics, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 514-530.

Zhou, D., Djatej, A., Sarikas, R., Senteney, D., 鈥淔rameworks and Guidelines tin industry Web Portal Business鈥�, Integration in the Global World, Idea Group, 2019, pp. 407-421.