Three dedicated ASA members have organized a unique contest for Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month designed to engage high-school, undergraduate, and graduate students.

Drake Gibson is a lifelong Prince George’s County, Maryland, resident who became passionate about data science after learning to program in R and Python in graduate school. While working at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, he took on projects that enhanced his knowledge—his colleagues noticed and encouraged him to apply to be a data scientist.

Jemar Bather is a senior scientist in biostatistics at Merck, where he applies his statistical expertise to develop new medications that enhance health outcomes for those affected by infectious diseases.

Lehana Thabane was always fascinated by numbers and the information one can get from a single number. He took all the mathematics courses offered to him as an undergraduate. Then, when he ran out, he took statistics courses.

Susan Paddock of NORC at the University of Chicago, Sharina Person of the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, and Wendy Martinez of the US Census Bureau discussed ASA sections and interest groups with Donna LaLonde and Ron Wasserstein during a recent podcast. Here, we take a second look as they discuss their personal experiences with section leadership.