Hi there! This blog probably has the most cliche title in the computer science world, but the shoe fits, so why not. This is my very first blog so it is befitting that I introduce myself and outline what I plan to do and write about.
My name is Shahzina Khan and I am a data analyst, learning my way into becoming a data scientist. My short-term goal is to specialize in Natural Language Processing and my long-term goal is to research Reinforcement Learning in NLP and find the key to the answers of the universe, or something like that.
I have an undergraduate degree in Finance, after which I took a 5 year break during which I enrolled in an advanced Arabic program and volunteered at a Sunday school and taught online. In 2017 I decided to pursue Data Science. Coming from a non-STEM background I had to start everything from scratch and as daunting as it was, the journey was rewarding. I recently graduated with two Associate degrees, one in CIS and one in Math. In parallel with my degrees, I also got a certification in Data Analytics and Visualization because I realized they key to a good model is data and I knew nothing about it.
The journey up to this point has not been easy. I come from a mostly conservative and in many ways patriarchal environment. “Why should girls study” is a topic that always puts me at odds with many friends and family. However, I was fortunate to find a partner who not only supported me but also pushed me to pursue my passions and fought for my right to opportunity. I am the first girl in the family to leave the city or even the country for education and I am the first in the family to pursue graduate studies in STEM. I hope to be first in many more arenas and set examples for more young women to follow.
I am currently self-learning and planning a project. I have just completed my Udacity Deep Learning Nanodegree and now I am working on the NLP Nanodegree and the Stanford CS224N course simultaneously. On this blog, I will be writing about things that I have learnt and am learning, especially the things that I found difficult or hard to retain. I will be using the Feynman technique where I will try to simplify the topic to it’s very basic component such that even a layman can understand it. The intention is not to teach my readers, rather to share my consolidated notes and learn together.
Let’s getting studying!!!
Thank you for your time. Please leave a comment with your critique. There is always room for improvement. 🙂
Shahzina Khan 