Sharon Hessney is the writer, moderator, and coordinator for “What’s Going On in This Graph?”, a weekly feature of the ASA and New York Times Learning Network.

ASA President Rob Santos says, “… building community is critical for us, both in our statistical community and in society more generally. Yes, we can be mentors, but we can and should also be guardian angels.”

The class of 2020 graduated into uncertain times and a job market deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the statistics and biostatistics master’s graduates in the job market who responded to the ASA follow-up survey seem to have landed on their feet.

The ASA’s Committee on Career Development hosted a free professional development event, “Promoting Your Networking Potential: A Virtual Networking Session,” August 5. The event featured statisticians and data scientists from academia, principal federal statistical agencies, and the private sector providing expert perspectives on how to build professional relationships and a network.

Can a pet tortoise predict when it’s about to rain? That’s the somewhat unusual question posed by Conner Jackson, winner of Significance magazine’s Statistical Excellence Award for Early Career Writing. Jackson’s article, “Pietro the Weather Tortoise and the Pursuit of Soggy Bun Prevention,” leads the line-up of feature articles in the October 2021 issue.