Dana Korssjoen
UW Honors Graduates
Dana Korssjoen

Mathematics
International Studies
Designation: Interdisciplinary Honors
Honors Grads 2020/2021
Proudest Moment: My proudest moment at UW was making the switch from majoring in International Studies to Mathematics. It was a massive transition, made especially intimidating because I was already entering my junior year at UW. I was very unsure if I was doing the right thing, and there were few people who could advise me, because few people understood both paths I was considering. Even certain math department staff told me it was too late to make the transition, and that I should give up. But, I trusted my gut. I couldn't be happier with how it all ended up, nor prouder of myself for having had the courage to make such a bold change.
d.korssjoen@outlook.comHi! I'm Dana. I'm graduating with a degree in Mathematics and a minor in International Studies (by the way, I also earned a minor in Applied Mathematics, but I didn't make that one official because it felt a little redundant). My unusual combination of disciplines comes from a deep love of learning and curiosity about the world. I entered UW as an International Studies major, but later fell in love with the creativity and beauty that coexists with the rigor and structure of mathematics.
While at UW, I did research in community involvement in USAID initiatives, natural language processing, and novel applications of graph theory for understanding real number sequences. I was (briefly) in a sorority -- Chi Omega. As a lead writing tutor in the Odegaard Writing & Research Center, I met students from across disciplines and programs at UW, and got to chat with them about reading and writing, which are two of my favorite things. Some of my fondest college memories come from Dean LaRue's International Negotiation Simulation class, where I represented Poland in our model EU sessions all quarter. I even competed in the Global Health Business Case Competition in the Foster School of Business, which was basically a 48-hour intensive course on how to put together a business plan for me (though we won second place!).
Throughout it all, I count myself lucky to have been part of the Honors community. The students and staff of this program are all lit from within by their passion, creativity, and devotion to understanding and improving the world. The most interesting conversations of my life have largely taken place within Honors classes (or have at least been sparked by the curriculum therein).
Since graduating, I've started work as a data scientist at Facebook. I'm looking forward to what else the future brings, and excited to keep connecting with my Honors peers.