Online Program

Saturday, October 22
Knowledge
Community
Influence
Sat, Oct 22, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Salon 2
Speed Session 4

Expanding Community through Continued Education (303276)

*Elizabeth Ormson, NORC at the University of Chicago 

Keywords: community, networking, education, jpsm

I will describe opportunities provided to me as a student with the Joint Program in Survey Methodology (JPSM) at the University of Maryland. I had the opportunity a few years ago to return to school to pursue a Ph.D. in survey methodology at JPSM. My background was in applied statistics, and most of what I learned about the survey research field was through my position as a survey statistician. Given the university’s location within the Washington metropolitan area, there is a unique mix of private, non-profit, and government organizations. Through the program, I was able to meet a diverse group of people with a variety of backgrounds and perspectives that I would likely not have met otherwise, due to competing interests or limitations of the work in which my company engaged. While I have yet to finish my Ph.D., I gained business and research community connections that not only built friendships, but also developed into a group of colleagues in my field that I can draw on for ideas, help, and networking.