Daniel Powell

I am currently a business systems analyst at BioFire Defense and MS Student in Business Analytics at the University of Utah. I am based out of Salt Lake City, Utah where I live with my partner and our dog, Scully. Before my current position, I worked at Amazon in a variety of roles. I started as a warehouse area manager, worked my way into a Quality Manager role, and finished my tenure as a Business Analyst Manager where I managed a team of data analysts that served the entire Amazon Grocery Network.

In many ways, Ursinus prepared me for a career in Data Science and Business Analytics through the opportunities to explore new fields. When I entered as a freshman at Ursinus, I was convinced that I was eventually going to go into screenwriting and filmmaking, but started down the international relations path as I had excelled in history, writing, and comparative government courses in high school. However, through international relations, I discovered that I had a talent for data analysis - which inspired me to go down the economics path.

Long story short, despite entering Ursinus believing I was only right-brained, I found that I had a passion for software, data, and statistics. Classes I took for my economics major, such as Research Methods, Econometrics, Statistics, and an intro to python course, ended up giving me tools that allowed me to jump on opportunities as they arose at Amazon. I even remember opening up the digital commons to refresh my memory on a statistical method I had used in my honor’s research so I could apply it to a project that would eventually become one of my biggest success stories. I never felt like I was siloed because not only could I do the technical work, but I could also write effectively and share ideas with purpose. This helped put me on a fast-track for role promotions and leadership positions.

I am so thankful for the education I received at Ursinus. Without it, I am unsure if I would have uncovered my abilities to succeed in more technical fields.