The QMSS department welcomes back Sam Limerick, a continuing Graduate Student Instructor for the QMSS 201 course! Sam is currently pursuing a dual degree through the School for Environment and Sustainability, and the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. His current research project involves studying agriculture in New York City, specifically looking at community gardens and the demographic to which they are accessible. His goal is to determine the necessary actions to build a city that is equitable, sustainable, and “green”, to ultimately scale up the model to address environmental inequity.
Sam graduated in 2016 from the University of Texas-Austin with degrees in both economics and geography. Throughout his undergraduate years, he had internships with the Coastal Management Program at the Texas General Land Office, and Tableau as a consulting intern. These opportunities allowed Sam to explore his passions for the environment, geography, and data analysis. After graduating, Sam worked at Whole Foods Market as a business analyst. His roles included supporting data warehousing and business intelligence, with a main focus on collaborating with a team that centered around Tableau and data visualization.
Sam decided to continue his education when he realized he wanted to use his skills with data and apply them to social and environmental challenges. He was drawn to the University of Michigan due to the interdisciplinary nature and flexibility of the SEAS program. He is specifically interested in the intersectionality of environmental policy, environmental justice, and climate resiliency. Sam also mentioned that he admires the graduate student community’s practice of pursuing dual degrees, which ultimately led to him working towards an urban planning degree alongside Environment and Sustainability.
Sam explained that he was immediately drawn to QMSS because it’s a program that allows undergraduates from a diverse range of disciplines to enhance their own expertise with data skills. He was also very thrilled for an opportunity to use and teach his Tableau skills as a GSI! Sam has enjoyed helping people see a connection with analytic technologies in their own fields, and he believes that his experience in both business and research has prepared him to teach and give students perspective. As someone who is passionate about the power of data visualization, Sam expressed that Tableau and GIS are his favorite tools for data and spatial analysis. He does, however, acknowledge that these tools would not be as functional without the cleaning process assisted by Excel and R, so he gives those credit as well!
A piece of advice that Sam has for undergraduate students is to work on the ability to quickly acquire new information, or in simpler terms: learn how to learn. This not only includes the development of soft skills like teamwork, but also knowing how and where to look for help when necessary. Sam emphasized that since technology is in a constant state of evolution, the ability to learn will allow individuals to keep up and take advantage of new data analysis tools!
