Fariba Fard was teaching classes in data visualization and communication as adjunct faculty in the Department of Information Science and planning to find a post doc position after graduating with a PhD in Information Science with a concentration in Data Science in May 2023. She was also finishing up her dissertation, entitled “Development and Utilization of Big Bridge data across the US” when on a whim, she looked at job openings and saw one at PACCAR that seemed to be a good fit. She decided to apply and was soon informed they wanted to interview her. Although she originally had applied out of curiosity, she decided to take the interview seriously. Therefore, she studied the company history and read potential interview questions for data scientists and practiced answering.  After this one interview experience, which entailed several interviews with the directors of PACCAR, she received an offer and took it. 

Fariba appreciates the Department of Information Science for the opportunities that they provided. Her scholarship awards and teaching assistantship fully supported her education, and she also felt supported academically by the department. She especially wants to thank Dr. Junhua Ding, Dr. Suliman Hawamdeh, and D. Lingzi Hong for their unwavering encouragement along her path.