WINSTED, CT – June 25, 2020 – Northwestern Connecticut Community College students, Joseph McElroy and Joseph Axiak, who were enrolled in the college’s Data Science Program, have been offered summer internships with Los Angeles based, Objection Company, which conducts Review Fraud Detection. It identifies and disputes illegitimate online reviews in order to protect businesses and consumers against fake reviews.  The two remote internships began on June 1, and will run for 12 weeks, 20 hours per week.

Curtis Boyd, CEO of Objection Company guest lectured on ‘Review Fraud Detection using Machine Learning Algorithms’ in Professor Crystal Wiggins’ Introduction to Machine Learning course this past semester, and after meeting McElroy and Axiak, created the two internship positions for the students. The students are part of the From Classrooms and Camps to College and Technical Careers program, a National Science Foundation Grant-funded program at the college (NSF Award #1801062).  Professor Wiggins, faculty advisor for the Data Science portfolio at NCCC exclaimed, “Internships in Data Science at the Associates’ level are unheard of and revolutionary!”

Joseph McElroy, a second year NCCC Data Science student, has an Associate in Science (A.S.) degree in Criminal Justice, and an Associate in Art (A.A.) degree in Psychological Studies, he formerly served with the Connecticut Army National Guard as a Military police officer. As a student at Oliver Wolcott Technical High School, he received the Draftsman Head Award, voted on by teachers, for being hardworking and successful.

Joseph Axiak studied Mathematics and Data Science at Northwestern Connecticut Community College. He is a member of the Connecticut Army National Guard and will be continuing his education at the University of Connecticut in Fall 2020.

Data Science is an inter-disciplinary field that uses scientific processes, algorithmic and systems methods to build knowledge and extract insights from big data. More succinctly, it discovers hidden patterns from vast amounts of data too complex for the brain to decipher, using mathematical tools, skills and techniques.

The Northwestern Connecticut Community College Data Science Degree and Certificate Program were launched during fall 2019. The Data Science Associate degree program prepares students primarily to transfer to complete a B.S. degree in Data Science or Technology Management. Graduates will receive a background in mathematics, science, data literacy, programming, and general education courses for transfer into a four-year program. The Data Science Certificate provides exposure to key elements of data science including data structures and data sources, programming languages, statistical principles, computing and analytics, data management, machine learning tools, and data science applications.

Please contact Professor Crystal Wiggins at cwiggins@nwcc.edu, for more information about Northwestern Connecticut Community College’s Data Science Programs.

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