The Journey Begins! (2-min read)

My name is Ben Polzin and I am a passionate problem solver who always dreamed of the future and how I could help shape it. Growing up I was always curious, always trying to figure out how things worked. At amusement parks when other kids were excited by the characters and spectacle, I was enthralled by how the rollercoasters worked - looking at the gears and inner workings and coming up with ideas on how to make it even better has always come naturally to me.

As a kid I loved building and flying model rockets, tinkering with k’nex sets and dreaming of what could be. Eventually this led me to Colorado School of Mines, a very challenging but inspiring Engineering University in Golden, CO known for its Petroleum Engineering program. Oil and gas is a complex and multidisciplinary field that is critical to providing reliable energy. It was very appealing to me, as well as the opportunity to solve new problems I had never thought of before.

There was no oil and gas industry in Iowa, so I did not grow up in it the way many in the industry have. To add another challenge, my Senior year at CSM coincided with the steep and steady decline of the oil and gas industry that began in 2015. I persevered and worked hard to earn an opportunity in a new industry at a very challenging time. Adaptability, agility, and innovation were key to survival as an Engineer in an economic downturn.

That adaptability and love of innovation that I always had as a kid led me to fall in love with Data Science. I had the opportunity to work very closely with the data team and implement many innovative workflow improvements with automation and analysis. I knew right away that I needed to evolve my skillset and expand my engineering toolbox to include the data science and machine learning fundamentals.

And that brings me here, a newly minted Data Scientist having completing the diploma program at BrainStation. I will go into the bootcamp experience in more detail in another post, but it was a fantastic experience and pushed me every day. After demonstrating the skillset, enthusiasm, and leadership ability I was offered a contract to join the team as a Teaching Assistant. That was a great experience being a mentor and tutor as well.

Looking forward to using this blog as an opportunity to share more of my evolution, as well as highlight my evolving skillset with a portfolio demonstrating the data science foundation. The journey begins!

Written on October 30, 2020