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Degree: Bachelor鈥檚 in data science

Data science concentration area: Economics

Hometown: Kigali, Rwanda

Ian Manzi 鈥�18 has been intrigued by computers ever since he was a child. But it鈥檚 not computers alone that spark his interest.

鈥淎 lot of people think of people interested in computer science as 鈥榓ntisocial鈥欌�攑eople and machines. But I am not that,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 feed off the energy of being with people.鈥�

He鈥檚 convinced he has found an ideal fit in data science for his analytical mind and gregarious personality.

Manzi arrived at Rochester unsure of what he wanted to pursue. He started with a major in computer science, but he found it too abstract. And so he moved this year to data science, which he says keeps the quantitative aspects of programming that appeal to him but also offers more opportunities for practical problem-solving.

Last year he completed an internship as an operations manager in his hometown of Kigali, Rwanda, helping local schools to transition to digital record-keeping.

鈥淢arketers and programmers don鈥檛 speak the same language,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 understand both, and I helped the project to grow.鈥�

It鈥檚 the act of communication that seems to fascinate Manzi most. He says that he wants to create computer platforms that help people converse across disciplines. 鈥淭he answers we need for societal problems may be on the 鈥榦ther side鈥� 鈥� of divisions, he says, and communication is essential.

Fostering conversations and looking for answers is something he knows a thing or two about. This spring, Manzi and Derrick Murekezi 鈥�19, a geology major from Nyagatare, Rwanda, received a $10,000 grant from Davis Projects for Peace, a competitive national program that promotes peace and intercultural understanding. The two will use the funding to implement their summer project, 鈥淐ritical Thinking for Peace: Sustaining Peace in Post-Conflict Regions,鈥� in Rwanda this July. They鈥檒l plan, set up, and operate a young leaders鈥� peace camp for high school students, where camp-goers will reflect on Rwanda鈥檚 1994 genocide.

And while he didn鈥檛 conceive of the project as having a data science dimension, he鈥檚 beginning to see ways that he might potentially work that in.

One thing data science has cultivated in him, he says, is the 鈥渁bility to relate to different fields.鈥�