StatFest—a free, one-day conference designed to encourage undergraduate students of color to pursue graduate studies and careers in statistics and data science—will bring students and professionals together September 23 at SAS headquarters in Cary, North Carolina.

This year’s program will kick off with a keynote address by Ché Smith, senior analytics engineer at Netflix, who will share insights from her career. Panel discussions with professionals from industry and academic, government, and nonprofit organizations will follow. Invited speakers will also share advice for building mentorship networks and applying to graduate school.

Later in the day, students will participate in a students-only discussion with current graduate students about their experiences and how to be successful in graduate school. In a concurrent session, professionals will talk about how to promote inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility in statistics and data science, focusing on cultivating the next generation of leaders.

Between speaker and panel sessions, participants will have the opportunity to connect with each other, build their networks, and interact with exhibitors. Past exhibitors have included representatives from graduate programs, summer research programs, and internship programs, as well as potential employers. Students will also have the opportunity to share their work or research experience in a poster session.

A limited number of travel awards are available for undergraduate students from 250 or more miles from Cary. To be considered, students must register by May 31 and indicate their need on the registration form.

StatFest is an ongoing initiative of the American Statistical Association through its Committee on Minorities in Statistics. The committee seeks to foster participation in statistics and data science by historically underrepresented minorities. It focuses much of its effort on two key programs: StatFest, a pathway program, and the Diversity Mentoring Program, an early-career success program.