Hello, I’m Eric. I’m a data analyst for Volusia County Schools, and I have an odd array of experiences.
Originally, I’m from Auburndale, Florida, where I grew up and attended high school. I moved to DeLand, Florida, in 2015 to attend Stetson University. At Stetson I studied Economics, but was most interested in Applied Statistics and prediction modelling. At the time, I didn’t even know there was such a thing as “machine learning”, but I’m sure if I did I wouldn’t have cared anyway, since I was enamored by a lovely young lady named Abigail, who I eventually married.
During and after my time at Stetson I worked odd jobs, but always wanted a way to directly serve my community. I thought I would try law enforcement, and attended the Daytona State College Basic Law Enforcement Academy, and was employed by the Volusia Sheriffs Office. I greatly enjoyed my time as a LEO, and it gave me insight into how people think, as well as experiences I couldn’t have possibly gotten any other way.
After my time as a LEO, I became a teacher at Deltona High School, originally teaching Algebra and Geometry, but quickly moving to an Exceptional Student Education teacher in the Biology department. During my short tenure at Deltona High, a job posted for a data analyst at the Volusia County Schools District office, which I applied for, and was granted the job.
Since then, I’ve been working to improve my machine learning experience. I’ve deployed classification models to predict student achievement and learning gains, and have compiled those predictions into school grades. I work on various side projects in the meantime, and have been taking classes on data science, machine learning, and neural networks.