Category: Technical Skills

My Experience with Python

Coming into Wesleyan, I made it my goal to take a few classes on programming and other technical skills. In the spring, I took a class in Excel and Python through the school’s Quantitative Analysis Center. Excel wasn’t very technical, but the course helped me develop a basic understanding of how to use the program for data analysis, which is a helpful skill in finance. 

I wanted to take my skills to the next level, so I also signed up for a Python class the next quarter. I had never learned a programming language, but this class challenged me to learn how to use Python for data analysis. The final component of the course was a project where students had to find online datasets and analyze any trends they found. I decided to look into baseball statistics, something that I enjoy looking at in my free time. Using a massive pool of players and their career statistics, I tried to define a threshold for these statistics that would define any one player as a “good player.” To define this, I relied on  batting averages and OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging%) for position players, and ERA (Earned Run Average) as well as WHIP (Walks+Hits/Innings Pitched) for pitchers. 

The most interesting part of the project was when I tried to locate the states that produced the highest number of  “good players.” I presented this data on several graphs, showing that Texas, Florida, California, and Georgia produced the most “good players.” But this wasn’t a deep enough insight for me—obviously, Texas, Florida, and California would have the most players, because they are all highly-populated states in warmer environments, and are generally considered superpowers for sports. Then, I decided to look into the number of “good players” per capita in each state. These numbers were more revealing. Ohio, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania were among the top five states with the  highest number of “good players.” I was really interested in the findings that I found and it was overall a really interesting project to work on, and it was fun to do. 

About My Podcast Creation

During my Freshman fall, I took a class called Intro to Podcasting. It was a workshop course, meaning that it wasn’t meant to be all lectures and exams, rather, it was working on a project over the course of a semester, using information learned in class to help.

We started the class off by brainstorming ideas for a podcast. I knew that in order to be successful in this class, my podcast had to be about something I truly cared a lot about. I chose to do my podcast on New England Sports, partially because I could talk for hours on end about it, and also because my family has a history in sports media, and I felt it would be really cool to extend that history.

We learned how to use a software editing program called Audacity, which allowed me to clip certain parts of my audio recording which I did with my best friend from home, and place those clips in whatever order I wanted them to go. This allowed me to place parts of my recording in places that made more sense in the final project. I could also adjust the volume and pitch of the sound, as well as cut out anything that I didn’t want or that didn’t sound good.

A lot of the class was taking peer feedback and using it to revise. I ended up getting feedback that made me completely pivot my podcast episode. I was told that my podcast felt too informational, and that only seriously dedicated Boston sports fans would listen. I agreed. I was told that the people of ESPN hardly talk about sports at all, they just argue, and people watch. I also agreed. I re-recorded my episode with one of my teammates, who I disagreed with a lot. The new section was way more combative and engaging for the listeners, and as a result, the new result was much better. My classmates and my professor really liked the new episode.