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C H A M I N A DE MAGAZI NE
Finding Solutions Through Data Science DAIRIAN BALAI ’22 PEERS INTO DATA TO FIND SOLUTIONS. THAT’S WHERE SHE FOUND HER PASSION, TOO.
The Data Science major likes to say that all those numbers—on everything from community health disparities to poverty to race and education—represent people, with hopes and dreams, just like her. She’s on a mission to tell their story (and hers) by spotlighting the data that speak to real experiences. “I want to shine a light on the problems we’re facing,” she said. And even though she hasn’t yet graduated, Balai is already making her mark. Thanks to a series of programs at Chaminade, Balai scored a paid remote internship with a University of Texas lab to research maternal and infant mortality and comorbidities in Native Hawaiian communities. She hopes to use data science to spotlight what factors can help protect moms and babies. Balai grew up in Wai'anae and graduated from Wai'anae High. During her junior and senior years, she applied to a long list of potential universities in Hawai'i and on the mainland. And she was pretty set on going out of state for her undergraduate education. But then her high school counselor told her about the Ho'oulu STEM Scholarship, which covers 100 percent of Chaminade tuition and offers support services. The scholarship convinced Balai to take a tour of Chaminade— and she’s glad she did.
