From Gainesville to Singapore: UF data science major finds the story in the numbers
Analise Stuart, a third-year student majoring in data science at the University of Florida, didn’t just spend her summer gaining work experience. Stuart immersed herself in a global adventure that combined professional growth with cultural exploration. Hailing from Jacksonville, Stuart was matched through UF’s Study Abroad program , with a data science internship at UPS in Singapore, where she spent two transformative months tackling real-world problems. Student study abroad and internship opportunities are available through Beyond120, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ experiential learning program.
“I like data science because you take these huge sets of numbers that don’t seem to mean anything at first, and you can use them to tell stories and solve problems,” Stuart said. Her projects at UPS spanned from automating data corrections to creating dashboards that monitored package deliveries across 15 Southeast Asian countries. By introducing Python-based solutions to processes previously handled manually in Excel, she helped streamline operations and assisted the company in resolving thousands of postal code mismatches, contributing meaningfully from the start.
Stuart credits her involvement with UF’s GatorAI for equipping her with critical communication and technical skills. “A big part of being a data scientist is not just analyzing the data, but being able to communicate that conclusion well,” she said, describing how her experience leading workshops and team projects prepared her to convey complex ideas effectively in a professional setting.
Beyond the numbers, Stuart embraced the cultural lessons Singapore offered. Living in a hotel with 30 fellow UF students, she balanced work with weekend explorations, discovering a society that value order, safety and community.
One of the highlights of Stuart’s internship was a full-day ride-along with a UPS driver in Singapore. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., she followed a veteran employee on his route, visiting businesses and handling large package deliveries. She was struck by the driver’s expertise and local knowledge. Navigating the city almost entirely from experience, he relied on intuition rather than automated systems. Along the way, she observed the focus, problem-solving and personal interactions required to complete each stop efficiently. The driver shared stories of his weekly commutes home and life in Malaysia, giving Stuart a deeper understanding of the human side of logistics. By seeing the job firsthand, she gained not just insight into UPS operations but a newfound appreciation for the dedication and skill of the employees who keep the system running. The experience also added context to her data-driven projects, making the numbers she analyzed feel more connected to real-world operations.
Reflecting on her internship, Stuart said, “Being thrown into the deep end at UPS helped me learn techniques immediately and confirmed that data science is something I want to do in the future.” For UF students, her journey exemplifies the power of combining rigorous academics with hands-on international experience.
