Analytics Student’s Master’s Thesis Lands Job

Written by Bailey Smith, Communications Intern

In August, Austin Armstrong will be graduating from BGSU with his Master of Science in Applied Statistics degree with a specialization in Business Analytics. The thesis Armstrong wrote for his degree landed him a full-time job within the Office of the Ohio Secretary of State’s Elections Division.  

His thesis work analyzed the allocation of equipment to polling locations. The research utilized simulation and machine learning algorithms to allocate electronic poll books to minimize wait times. In preparing his thesis, Austin spent countless hours researching the voting process including making phone inquiries to the Secretary of State’s Office and various County Board of Elections. 

When he saw the job posting online, Armstrong knew immediately that he had to apply for the Elections Data Administrator position. All of the in-depth research he did for his thesis work gave him special knowledge about some of the operations and procedures at the Secretary of State’s Office.  

“I believe my intensive coursework here at Bowling Green, prior work experience, and my unique set of knowledge gained through my thesis research made me a strong candidate for this position,” said Armstrong.  

In January 2020, Austin began working as an Elections Data Administrator on a part time basis, and looks forward to transitioning into the position full time after graduation. Some of his main duties and responsibilities have involved identifying opportunities for process improvement, recommending system modifications, and developing data governance policies pertaining to elections. In addition, Austin will be utilizing statistical tools to interpret data sets, analyzing results, and identifying trends and patterns for analytics efforts.