Kate Holden '14: The flexibility of a Math degree

For Elmira College graduate Kate Holden ’14, a Math degree is incredibly versatile.

Holden is a project manager and survey analyst for SullivanLuallin Group, where she helps healthcare institutions conduct surveys to gain insight into patient satisfaction and healthcare worker wellness. She then uses her math skills to analyze the results.

“But there’s a ton of problem-solving and troubleshooting skills that I probably use more than the math,” she explained.

Because Holden’s clients are researchers, oftentimes they will perform their own analysis. Her job then becomes double-checking their work. When she finds errors, she has to work out where things went wrong through a painstaking trial-and-error process. The work is similar to completing a peer review, which Holden learned how to do in the Elmira College Obler Summer Research Program.

“I use that experience a lot,” she explained. “Our project wasn’t an official peer review, but we spent the whole summer going through research, trying to replicate results, and finding errors.”

From her experience at Elmira, Holden hopes that students who have an interest in mathematics will dive boldly into a Math degree.

“Even if you love math but don’t know if you want to go into a math-heavy job, your ability to learn really difficult things is attractive to employers,” she said.

“There’s so much you can do with a Math degree.”