Research Center

ERIC

Year in School: Graduate Student

Major / Minor: Statistics/Analytics (Undergrad: Industrial Engineering, Music)

Extracurricular Activities @ U of I: None. I did not do my undergrad here, and grad classes/homework take time away from being able to get involved in much.

Hometown: Blackstone, IL 

Is your hometown known for anything? Nope

Favorite thing to do on campus: People-watch, go to concerts/plays at Krannert

What do you do in your spare time? I play piano and church organ as a hobby and semi-professionally (church services, weddings, etc.). I also enjoy just hanging out with friends for dinner, playing cards, watching movies, going to sporting events, etc. When I have the time for it, I enjoy baking (my specialty is gingersnap cookies).

Favorite Holiday: It’s a toss-up between Christmas and 4th of July. Both holidays involve good music.

Favorite Food: Comfort food – casseroles, soups, things mom made when I was a kid.

Favorite Movie: CLUE, Moulin Rouge, You’ve Got Mail, Skeleton Key…among others.

If you could have dinner with anyone from history or present day, who would it be and why? I suppose with all the talk about his significant birthday this year, I wouldn’t mind having lunch with Abraham Lincoln. He seems like the kind of guy I’d get along with.

Why did you decide to work for the RC? I was informed about the SF MAGNET program by the statistics department as an opportunity to use the concepts I would be learning about in classes while getting tuition reimbursement and hourly pay. Who wouldn’t apply? ;-)

What is your project about? I’m currently working on a customer potential modeling project.

What is your favorite thing about working here? My favorite thing about working at the RC is the flexibility. Although each intern creates a schedule for the semester, we have flexibility to come in earlier or later if necessary in order to focus on our school commitments (extra time needed for homework, or studying for an exam, etc.). Other favorite things about working here include the environment (workstations, technology, kitchen area) and, of course, the people.

What is the most surprising thing you have learned about State Farm? I knew before I started that SF was a large company, but I didn’t realize just how large it was. One could spend hours just looking at all the different areas listed on the intranet homepage or wandering around corporate to see all the different workgroups – and that doesn’t include the groups at the other offices in Bloomington as well as all the different regions and agents.