Elina Israyelyan B.S. in Data Science ‘23

Leon and Viktoria Shaldjian Foundation Scholarship

Elina Israyelyan is a senior majoring in data science at the American University of Armenia (AUA). She was initially interested in studying business until she learned about the newly launched B.S. in Data Science program at AUA. She quickly researched more about the field and learned about its prospective growth and demand, which led her to select this path. “I used to think that programming and science did not require creativity, but AUA showed me that those are actually some of the most creative fields today,” remarks Elina. 

During her sophomore year at AUA, Elina took an internship as a researcher at the Hero House AI Incubator and was later accepted to work as a data scientist at the cyber security company EasyDMARC. After graduating from AUA, Elina hopes to continue her education with a master’s degree in computer engineering followed by a Ph.D. She believes that the University’s balance between academia and industry is what makes her experience of studying data science interesting. Her long-term goal is to learn more about robotics and create her own company to work on various projects in robotics. “Through my involvement in AUA’s mentorship program, I’ve realized how enjoyable it is to share your experience with mentees,” reflects Elina. “I hope to have the opportunity to teach at AUA at some point in the future.”