Nashville Software School Full Time Data Analytics Cohort 7

Come see us demo on August 19, 2022!

NSS Staff and Alumni

Often in society, it becomes almost natural for one to expect to become just another cog in the machine. It is much harder to go into a situation and expect to be seen and uplifted. Through every step of this journey, NSS has broken this stigma. By cultivating a strong community where acceptance and understanding are continuously pushed, a new era of tech professionals has been birthed. No matter who we called, emailed, slacked, or sent a carrier pigeon out to, there was always a warm response returned. It is an understatement to say the individuals that came before us “paved” the way to greatness. Simply because they are still to this day actively paving the road to success for not only us, themselves, and our community but for future generations. NSS has built a strong foundation that only continues to get better over time because of the staff members that give us their all and our alumni that never forget their roots. For that, we would love to humbly give thanks to all of our alumni and the staff members that kept us on track:

  • Aimee Johnson
  • Amy Henderson
  • Ashley Conino
  • Greg Korte
  • Haley "Zap" Zapolski
  • Jessica Grande
  • John Wark
  • Kate Wilson
  • Katie Kuhl
  • Laura Buchanan
  • Mandy Arola
  • Marla Lamont
  • Mary Van Valkenburg
  • Michael Frieh
  • Michael Holloway

Community Partners

Throughout this process, we were repeatedly reminded that practice makes perfect. We were given many opportunities to hone our skills ranging from technical to behavioral. Without our community partners, gaining this hands-on experience wouldn’t have been possible. They allowed us to stumble through our mock interviews, pick their brains during our round tables, and manically explore their data while always responding with grace and reminding us to be kind to ourselves. We truly understand that there isn’t a price that we could put on the time and energy you are invested in us. You could’ve been anywhere in the world but you chose to be with us. For that, we would like to graciously thank:

  • Alex Trambley - Velocity Risk Underwriters
  • Allie Anderson - The Mechanical Licensing Collective
  • Amanda Cotton-Ferrer - EviCore
  • Ben Hummel - Zapier
  • Caleb Autry - Velocity Risk Underwriters
  • Chris Hart - HCA
  • Christian Mack - AO Smith
  • Daniel Spaulding - Velocity Risk Underwriters
  • Derek Price - Vanderbilt University Medical Center
  • Ed Pearson - Slalom
  • Emily Arevalo - Huron Consulting Group
  • Emily Saul - Acquire.io
  • Eric Broestl - Stratasan
  • Erin O'Rourke - EFC Systems, Inc.
  • Inge Kathleen - Music City Headshots
  • Jamie Mullens - Picket Homes
  • Jeffrey Hughes - Mitsui & Co (USA), Inc
  • Mackenzie Brewer - Brooksource
  • Maggie Eason - UrbanScience
  • Mulanda Lumasai - UrbanScience
  • Nadia Marie Roumanos - Monogram Health
  • Patrick Atwater - Stratasan
  • Pete Cochrane - RF Smart
  • Rosary Giang - Intelometry Inc.
  • Sergio Weiberg - State of TN
  • Stephen Gabor - A.O. Smith
  • Steven Purcell - G2Lytics
  • Spencer Essenpreis - Vanderbilt University Medical Center
  • Taylor Desseyn - Vaco
  • Terry Murphy - Deloitte Technology US
  • Tito Amoguis - Data Meaning Services Group

Special Thanks

Having access to real-world data to clean, analyze, and present made all of the difference between theory and practice. The work you all do in our community is vital to the success and improvement of Nashville and Tennessee. Hopefully, our analysis can assist you all in continuing to make a difference. We truly appreciate being trusted with the information we were given and the belief you all had in us to produce the high-quality results you’ve grown to expect from NSS. For that, we wholeheartedly thank:

  • TEIS with Department of Developmental Disabilities
  • WeGo Public Transit with Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority

Instructors

Last but certainly not least, we want to express our highest regard to the individuals that contributed the most to our significant growth and stress over the last 15 weeks. No matter how much we doubted ourselves and hid our tears behind our laughter and otherworldly zoom backgrounds, they were always there. Heavily armed with daily dad jokes and strange anecdotes, they kept us afloat. It’s a rarity to have instructors with a great sense of humor and the teaching skills of Socrates which somehow makes us the cooler versions of Aristotle. We truly appreciate the transparency and patience, given to us throughout this process. Regardless of how hard we were on ourselves, their support and reassurance ensured none of us felt isolated or left behind. For that, we lovingly thank:

We give great thanks to:

  • Christopher Wright…
  • First things first, we’d like to say thanks to Chris’s computer screen for frequently freezing, because now we have a folder full of FrozenChris NFTs to sell. Stay tuned, they’re coming to a metaverse near you! Secondly, we would love to thank the man, the myth, the legendary jokester, Chris Wright. Your dad jokes and excessive coffee drinking gave us all of the energy we needed to power through this intense bootcamp. You constantly pushed us to get out of our comfort zone and absorb as much information as possible. Regardless of how many questions we asked or how many times we asked you to record, we never annoyed you or maybe you have a really strong poker face. Beyond the course material, you taught us how to be kind to ourselves as analysts and boosted our comradery with one another. You are extremely easy to communicate with and you seeking out our constructive criticism for the course is greatly appreciated. Our main request would be to never stop being Chris. You’re doing such an amazing job and we really hope you understand how you’ve impacted our lives. Thanks, Chris!


  • Joshua Rio Ross…
  • How lucky were we to be the last cohort to have Josh as an instructor? We actually planned it that way because we couldn’t allow anyone else to experience this level of awesomeness. All jokes aside, having Josh in our DDA7 family impacted many of us in ways we can’t explain. Having the opportunity to learn from someone that is insanely intelligent, recklessly hilarious, and strangely humble is a once in a lifetime experience. Your tips, tricks, and resources helped us out so much through this entire process and we appreciate you so much for taking this journey with us. You celebrated our highs and bandaged us up during our lows. You are truly amazing and we know that your imminent success is inevitable. Thanks, Josh!


  • Olariche Obi…
  • Our first day of class feels like it was so long ago but your impactful insight and personality made it feel like it was just yesterday that you were our TA and we were struggling through the beginning stages of our course. No matter what question we asked, you always had a solution or you always found one. We were all so excited to have a chance to speak with you at our round table and reminisce on old times even though they weren’t that old. We wish you good luck in your career and truly appreciate you always being available for us. Thanks, Ola!


  • Patrick Manning…
  • It was with you that we found out that there was a myth about NSS TAs. Apparently after you attain this highly esteemed position, you land your dream job! We truly appreciated all the support you provided while you were with us and we hope you’re enjoying your new position. Thanks, Patrick!


  • Sobiya Khan…
  • We knew you were a pro from your very first quip with Chris. We truly appreciate your seamless transition into being our TA for the conclusion of our course. Your feedback and support has been invaluable and we wish great things for your future. Thanks, Sobiya!