KSU Graduate Uses Data Analytics Skills For The Win

Press release from Kennesaw State University:

Nov 19, 2020

KSU graduate uses data analytics skills for the win

KENNESAW, Ga.
(Nov 19, 2020) — Julia Fortenberry’s best-learned skills led her from the classrooms at Kennesaw State
to a job as a supply chain analyst at Americold, a cold-storage and transport company
with corporate offices in the Atlanta area.

Julia Fortenberry, left, and senior lecturer of statistics Susan Hardy
She graduated last December with a major in computational and applied mathematics and a minor in statistics. Thanks to the combination of her coursework and a summer internship, Americold hired
her full time starting in January.

“I use what I learned at KSU every day,” she said. “I run analytics and statistics,
and I’ve worked on the beginnings of a project that will use a predictive model for
new projects coming into the office to better determine what will be the best win
for the company.”

A strong math student from a young age, Fortenberry came to KSU intending to study
math education thanks to stellar teachers in high school who inspired her to love
the subject. When she took on a minor in statistics, her goals changed a bit.

“Once I got involved in the stat minor at KSU, I really enjoyed everything we were
learning,” she said. “I switched my major to computational and applied math with a
minor in statistics. Really, I think my love of math was due specifically to all of
the amazing math teachers and professors I’ve had over the years. They made math enjoyable
and fun.”

From her studies, she earned a summer internship at Americold, where she came up with
the idea for an approach to data that could save the company a significant amount
of money annually. She took the project to KSU’s annual R Day poster presentation
competition and won first prize among 280 student presenters.

That internship led to her current full-time position in the supply chain solutions
group at Americold, where she and her co-workers take new projects with potential
for millions of dollars in revenue and work with the sales team to figure out the
best way to accomplish that goal.

“Americold has provided such a fun and interesting work environment and I enjoy the
team and the company,” she said. “One of the best parts is that they prioritize the
growth and education of their employees, and that’s definitely something that I plan
to take advantage of here.”

– David Shelles

Photo submitted

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A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers more than 150 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 41,000 students. With 11 colleges on two metro Atlanta campuses, Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia and the second-largest university in the state. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the region and from 126 countries across the globe. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 6 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.

This press release was produced by Kennesaw State University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.