About Me

I’m Ziling—most people just call me Z! I’m currently a senior at St. Olaf College, where I transferred in as a sophomore. Coming from Portland, Oregon, transferring to a small college like this has been an unique experience, but it’s been an incredible fit. I’m also a member of the NCAA women’s basketball team here at St. Olaf. People would say I have a great work ethic, easy to get along with, and fun to be around. After graduation, I will be joining Ameriprise Financial’s Analytics Leadership Development Program, where I’ll dive into three rotations over 24 months, exploring different parts of the business and strengthening my analytical skills. Though finance is a new field for me, I’m excited about using data to tackle real-world problems and work on data-driven projects that make a difference. This about me page gives a glimpse into my work experience, college journey, and some things I love to do for fun. Scroll down to skip the boring stuff and check out the cool things about me!

Experience

Incoming Analytics LDP Associate
Ameriprise Financial | Minneapolis, MN | June 2024

Data Science 1 Tutor
St. Olaf College | Northfield, MN | Sept 2023 - Present

  • Serve as an academic role model for students taking Data Science 1 (Introduction to R) by exhibiting positive study strategies, and time management skills
  • Schedule and host tutoring sessions
  • Complete administrative tasks in a timely and efficient manner (emails, timecards, tutoring notes, etc.)

Service Desk Intern
Cambria | Eden Praire, MN | May 2023 - August 2023

  • Capstone Project: Windows 11 Implementation: Collaborate with Cambria Security & System Engineering Team to rollout strategies and group policy configurations to satisfy company needs
  • Utilize software such as: Windows Active Directory Administration for onboarding, offboarding & employee management, Jamf to manage and secure Apple devices, Jira administration for resolving tickets, Asset Panda to manage IT assets (quantity, location, cost, etc.)

Education

St. Olaf College | Northfield, MN
B.A in Mathematics | Sept 2022 - May 2025

Portland Community College | Portland, OR
Transfer | Sept 2021 - June 2022

Fun Facts!

  • I super enjoy going to sporting events, particularly basketball and baseball games. The atmosphere in the arena and the intensity of the competition is super fun. I went to my first MLB game this summer and was absolutely hooked. I also play Division 3 basketball, so I love playing as well!

Photos of sports events I’ve attended and photos of me playing sports!

  • I love going to concerts and music! My very first concert was in 2021 and since then I’ve been to 24 total concerts and one 3-day long festival. I have a shoe that I call my concert shoe in which I get artists to sign, it has about 10 autographs on it right now. I was also featured in a YouTube short video posted by Dean Lewis that has 5+ million views and 315k likes.

  • Two of my favorite hobbies are taking photos and hiking. These work very well together because I can take photos while hiking. I hope to rekindle my passion for these hobbies and maybe even get into some sports photography.

This is one of my top 5 favorite photos I’ve ever taken. Located at Yellowstone National Park, my dad standing in a grass field

  • My top two favorite foods are a bowl of pho or sushi. If money or nutrition wasn’t in the picture, I would be very happy just eating those two things. I’ve worked at two sushi resturants and was able to learn how to cut some types of fish and roll sushi. Something else I really enjoy would be softserve matcha icecream, there’s a shop in Portland that I used to go to 2 or 3 times a week because it was just that good.