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Katherine Tate Cornell (she/her)

Tepper School of Business

Master of Business Analytics

Hometown: saratoga, new york

1. Briefly describe the work you're doing in your program at ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿.

   I am in my last semester at the Tepper School of Business, in the Master of Business Analytics program. The degree is a fast-paced, nine-month program that focuses on the blend of data, business, and fundamental analytic skills–including Python, R, Statistics, and Machine Learning. 

    

   While the majority of the program is dedicated to the space of analytics, there are courses in support of developing skills as business professionals. The focus is on balancing the demand for quantitative skills with the need for qualitative skills, ensuring the next batch of business leaders are well-rounded professionals. Additionally, there is a large emphasis on the emergence of the AI era, with a focus on how to strategically leverage AI in the workforce, with a conscious understanding of augmentation versus replacement. Through this program, I am developing a growth mindset focused on bettering myself, others, and data.

2. How did you develop an interest in this area? 

   Before becoming a Tartan, I worked in human resources (HR) supporting employee compensation & analytics. While ~65% of my job was focused on processes and meetings, there was a nice 35% cushion of business analytics that sparked my passion to further explore data.

    

   On a high level, the field of business analytics can be equated to the intersection of people and data. In an ever-changing world, the two things that are constant are the demand for people and data. With this in mind, I knew the demand was there, and I knew coming from HR, I enjoyed the people side just as much as the data side. So, when the opportunity to join Tepper materialized, I jumped on it. I knew I wanted to learn from the best, be challenged by the best, and be surrounded by the best. My goal in life is to become the best me I can be, and I knew ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ would challenge and prepare me to do just that.

3. What are your academic and/or professional goals? 

   Despite my introverted nature, people are at the core of (almost) everything I do. From telling a joke to putting in extra work on a team assignment, I am a person for the people. That said, I hope to apply my learnings from ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ to support the corporate world with more human-centered, data-driven, strategic decisions. We need more people in the “boardroom” fighting for hospitality in business. With days of “the customer is always right” seemingly behind us, I want to bring back the importance of maintaining a human-in-the-loop mentality to ensure we are doing right by our customers and our employees while elevating experiences with data. Ultimately, I hope this lends itself to management and eventually senior leadership. I want to capitalize on every opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the people I support. 

    

   Notably, academically, there is a world where I pursue my PhD, but I would be willing to bet that it won’t be for a few more years. I love learning and am intrigued by research and professorship, but I think my efforts will be more impactful outside of the classroom for now. 

    

   Overall, my goal is to empower myself and everyone around me to be an active member of society, pushing the boundaries of what we expect from the business world to be more empathetic, humble, hospitable, and kind.

4. How do you spend your time beyond academic work?

   After hours, I capitalize on my introverted tendencies by spending time with my close friends and family. Often, this includes trying out a new restaurant or revisiting one of our favorites, playing video games, driving around Pittsburgh, and attending local events–especially drama productions, musical theater, and drag shows. When I have time for more carefully planned and time-consuming activities, I enjoy traveling and learning new languages. Whether it is growing my passport stamp collection or visiting spots in the United States, I love getting out and seeing new places. Admittedly, I am less of a museum person and more of a “walk around the city until you get lost” type of person. I think it is the only way to truly explore a city, get a feel for the culture, and lose yourself in history. Likewise, when I have spare time before or between classes at ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿, I can be found wandering across campus with no particular place to be (unless I need coffee).