How Nancy Orozco found a path in data science

Published in partnership with Data Science 4 Everyone

By Shea Stripling (guest contributor)

When Nancy Orozco took a statistics class in high school, she didn’t know it would shape the course of her future. But now, as a freshman at Ramapo College of New Jersey majoring in data science, she credits that class—and one summer bootcamp—with helping her discover a passion and a clear path forward.

Nancy Orozco

Nancy’s interest began when a supportive teacher at New Brunswick High School - Mr. Joseph Dziuba - suggested that she consider data science as a potential career path. At first, Nancy hesitated. Growing up in an immigrant family, she felt pressure to follow a more established career path. “There was some pressure to become a lawyer or a doctor rather than pursuing something completely novel like data science,” she said.

Nevertheless, Nancy decided to go for it. Right after graduating high school, with no prior coding experience, she joined Skew The Script’s Data Science & AI Summer Bootcamp. Despite the hesitations, she found the program welcoming from the very start. “I really enjoyed the safe environment to be vulnerable and ask questions because I didn’t have any coding experience prior to that,” she explained. “So they really had a lot of thorough walkthroughs of what to do with coding, how to code, how to build a graph.”

That foundation gave her confidence. When she began her Intro to R course in college, she realized just how far she had come: “I was one of the students that already recognized R, which gave me a huge leg up.”

A Real-World Preview

During the bootcamp, Nancy and her peers were tasked with applying their new skills to a real-world project. Rather than being walked through every step, they were encouraged to problem-solve independently and work as a team. “We had a mentor assigned to us, but this mentor didn’t hold our hand the whole time,” she shared. “They encouraged us to try trial and error to find answers, especially when working on the regression model project.”

Nancy and her group’s bootcamp project topic.

The experience revealed how collaborative data science can be. “We had to communicate a lot,” she said. “It was an open space, so we were allowed to ask questions. If I didn’t know something, my team was really supportive.” She added, “It gave me an idea of what the working environment is like in data science.”

A Clear Path Forward

Today, Nancy is thriving as a data science major. “[The bootcamp] was like a sneak preview,” she said. “It really helped me narrow down my interest. Now, I’m currently majoring in data science, and I don’t see myself doing anything else.”

Looking ahead, she hopes to use data science to serve others.

“I would like to inform and empower low income communities where I grew up,” she said. “I don’t think anyone’s opportunities should be limited by where they live or where they came from.”

Nancy’s high school teacher, Mr. Joseph Dziuba, sees that same passion guiding Nancy’s future. “Nancy wants to play an active role in building a world where opportunity doesn't depend on where you are born, what you look like, or how much money you have,” he said.

Nancy hopes other students will take a chance on themselves by pursuing learning opportunities in statistics and data science. “It’s important to expand your horizons … I never would have realized that I like statistics and that I actually enjoyed coding.”

Learn More

Skew The Script’s Data Science & AI Summer Bootcamp helps high school students like Nancy discover their potential in coding, data analysis, and AI—no prior experience required. With need-based financial aid, endorsements from lecturers at universities like Harvard and MIT, and instruction from talented high school educators, the program is designed to be rigorous and accessible for everyone.

Applications for Summer 2025 are now open. Final deadline: May 30.
Ready to take the next step? Learn more and apply today.