Graduate Student Spotlight: Peyton Politewicz Empowers Communities with Data

For Peyton Politewicz, data science is a way to build stronger communities and understand human experiences, especially in epidemiology and public health.

“I was excited to get back into academia to get a refresher on the current state of data science,” says Politewicz, who previously worked as a data science manager overseeing artificial intelligence internships at Pennsylvania State University. “I had the opportunity to take some courses [at Pennsylvania State]… so that lined me up to be open to trying it here at UCI.”

Now as a student in UC Irvine’s Master of Data Science (MDS) program, Politewicz leverages his professional experience and academic coursework to address various social problems outside of the classroom. Currently, he is a data scientist at the UCI Center for Statistical Consulting (CSC).

“All of my colleagues are really brilliant statisticians, and I get to listen and learn a lot from them… A lot of our projects have to do with different kinds of research in medicine or epidemiology. I’ve done work on social determinants of health quite a bit,” he says. “I’m very happy working with the CSC.”

Politewicz works on epidemiology and public health-related projects with statisticians. The CSC’s emphasis on these fields aligns with his values about responsibly using data, artificial intelligence and machine learning to advocate for people and make a tangible difference in their lives.

His commitment to addressing social issues with data also extends beyond the CSC. This past spring, he participated in the SoCal R Users Group Data Science Hackathon, where he collaborated in a team to extract insights from vast IPUMS census and survey data. His team decided to focus on linguistic isolation, a term to describe households that speak limited English, and received the Best Insight award for their project.

“We looked at national trends… 15 years ago, California had the highest proportion of households that were isolated, and now it is eliminating linguistic isolation faster than any other state,” says Politewicz.

They found that linguistic isolation was initially high across Southern California, especially around Imperial County, Los Angeles and San Diego. However, survey data showed consistent decreases in linguistic isolation. The team hypothesized that this downward trend occurred because of the naturalization of immigrant families and the effectiveness of the California public school system’s role in supporting children from non-English speaking households.

“We were able to connect this pretty compelling narrative overnight,” says Politewicz. “I think that we wound up pulling ahead and catching the eye of the judges because of the novelty of what we were trying to explore and explain. It’s not the standard kind of analysis that you would usually see in terms of demography.”

His experience in this hackathon, the CSC and the MDS program have inspired him to stay in epidemiology and public health after he graduates this month. The work is impactful and diverse, allowing him to bring in his technical expertise and learn new skills with each project. For example, at the CSC, Politewicz also works on website design, database administration and data engineering.

Outside of school and work, Politewicz enjoys exploring the cultural and natural landscapes in Southern California, especially Joshua Tree. After years of traveling for work and living away from cities, he is excited to settle down in Orange County.

“Being connected to a place that has so much going on between Los Angeles and San Diego is wonderful,” Politewicz says. He has been especially immersed in the local music scene, noting how musicians finish their tours in Southern California. “I appreciate getting to feel the special quality that shows at the very end of tours.”

Politewicz encourages others to prioritize finding community outside of school as well as within it when pursuing graduate school and their careers. He offers a unique perspective because of his experience in recruiting, building teams and managing people.

“My biggest piece of advice to anybody, especially in a field this competitive, is to do your best to be somebody that other people like to work with and demonstrate your abilities,” he says. “Find other folks who you get along with and are similarly motivated so that you can go and pursue some projects outside of the classroom.”

— Karen Phan