Alumni Profile: Sean Griffin, Policy Analytics Credential 2022

Sean Griffin was looking for a new challenge in a new city. Originally from Rhode Island, and having just spent several years in New York City, Griffin immediately began exploring opportunities to get involved when he moved to Chicago. That is when he discovered Harris’s Policy Analytics Credential (PAC) program.

“I wanted to have something beyond my personal projects,” Griffin said. “They look okay on your resume, but I wanted something with greater visibility. As I was shopping around, I came across Harris’s program and the curriculum drew me in straight away.”

Griffin completed his bachelor’s at Northeastern University in 2013 with a double major in physics and philosophy. “I originally entered undergrad as a computer engineering student, but I didn’t feel like I was accomplishing my educational goals. That’s when I switched to physics, and I found it much more rewarding. And I picked up philosophy because I wanted to balance my education with something that would force me to think critically and carefully through argumentation.”

While in undergrad, Griffin also became interested in vintage fashion. “I would often see a lot of students at my school wearing unique vintage clothes, so I started getting into that myself.” He would eventually go on to become the Sole Proprietor of Green Plaza Worldwide, traveling throughout Southeast and East Asian cities and supplying curated vintage clothing to shops and private clients.

Griffin moved and began working in New York in 2019. While there, he involved himself heavily in volunteer work, becoming a Team Leader at New York Cares in 2021.

Upon moving to Chicago in early 2022, Griffin sought out a program where he could learn about statistics and data analysis through a structured curriculum. “When you study physics, you are introduced to statistics, but there is usually not enough time to learn about the explicit rules and think deeply about the discipline. I thought PAC would be a great way to really understand what I was originally introduced to in undergrad as well as pick up some additional data analysis techniques.” Griffin said although he had coded before, he did not have much experience explicitly with data analysis within policy contexts, so he felt like he still gained a tremendous amount from the program.

“Assistant Professor Austin Wright was a captivating professor,” Griffin said. “He explained things very clearly and designed his material and lessons carefully around the asynchronous model. That made it a really enjoyable experience.” Griffin also took great advantage of available office hours which he says was a great benefit.

At the conclusion of the program, Griffin participated in the Closing Celebration Challenge by working on a final project involving significant analysis and presentation. He analyzed traffic accidents in Chicago for the year 2021 and presented results through an interactive online dashboard. “My two primary goals for the project were to do something interactive and visualize data in exciting, non-traditional ways. Overall, I think I accomplished my goal.”

Ideally, Griffin says he would like to get into policy work at some point. “I’ve always considered myself a bridge builder, and I think policy is a great way to do that. I would love to continue to develop my skills and figure out ways where I can impact policy through data and analysis.”