Student Spotlight: Rei Cheong
Rei is from Singapore and has an Electrical Engineering undergraduate degree as well as an MBA. Currently an Investment Data Analyst of a global, quantitative, investment fund house headquartered in Boston, Rei was inspired to enroll in OMSCS because she wanted to advance her career to a more front office quantitative role in investment. However, job headhunters told her that she was lacking a technical master’s degree which would increase her chances of gaining her desired job role. A friend of hers was also interested in OMSCS as it is so cost effective, and they embarked on this OSMCS journey together. One aspect of OMSCS that Rei loves the most is that, “I like how strongly our OMSCS community believe in supporting one another internationally through various platforms like Reddit and Slack. This is not something I can get from local schools.” As for what Rei’s favorite course has been thus far, it would have to be CS 7637: Knowledge-Based AI as “it is very interesting how Ashok Goel and David Joyner developed the materials making the understanding of the concepts systematic and clear even though my impression of the module is abstract.”
I like how strongly our OMSCS community believe in supporting one another internationally through various platforms like Reddit and Slack. This is not something I can get from local schools.
Rei commented that computer science “means keeping abreast with the world’s evolution”, and this is the reason why she enjoys this discipline so much! Rei loves how AI can solve problems, and she is very curious how technically these methods work. She is in the Machine Learning specialization and thought of only focusing only on ML elective modules for the master's. However, over time, as she was exposed to other domains of OMSCS, such as software engineering and game development, Rei is now also interested in learning about these areas in the future. As for research, Rei is currently exploring how AI can be applied better to investment strategies.
I hope I can collaborate with anyone who also believes in the gem of their local/regional OMS community by sharing ideas on building vibrant and supportive OMS communities together.
An interesting fact about Rei is that she is one of the organizers and the Local Meetup Group Chapter Head for Singapore! Rei has done an incredible job of organizing a successful and vibrant OMSCS Singapore community! In fact, Rei mentioned that, “Because we are missing the physical interaction with one another as we are not on campus, I hope I can collaborate with anyone who also believes in the gem of their local/regional OMS community by sharing ideas on building vibrant and supportive OMS communities together.”
As for after graduation, Rei looks forward to “David Joyner including more courses for OMSCS over the years, and [I] would likely end up taking a few more courses even after I graduate!”
Rei likes to relax by playing boardgames during her free time. However, after a tedious day of debugging that piece of code that doesn’t work on Gradescope, Rei just needs a dose of Netflix Kdramas!
