Lorina recently started her role in Digital Marketing at Kai Analytics. She grew up in a remote town in the BC interior and moved to Kamloops to pursue her education at Thompson Rivers University. Outside of work, she enjoys visual art and creative writing.
1. Welcome, Lorina! What is your background and what interested you about this position?
I am a fourth-year student at Thompson Rivers University majoring in English Literature with a minor in Modern Language and Global Studies. English Literature is a much broader a study than it sounds—It’s not so much about reading books as it is about analyzing meaning, which I believe fits well with Kai Analytics’ use of Natural Language Processing (NLP), which was one of the things that attracted me to this position. I have long been interested in digital marketing, as it seemed like something I could truly excel at—from navigating SEO systems to creating engaging content. My education in Global Studies fits well into Kai Analytics’ work with international organizations, and I have a year's worth of experience working in business writing and government relations for XOMBO, so I hope to be an asset to the team.
2. What has working for Kai Analytics been like so far?
Although I only started working at Kai Analytics recently, I can tell that I’m going to love it here! I feel like there’s always a learning curve when it comes to any new position—It takes time to settle in and familiarize myself with my new duties, especially when there will always be an element of the unexpected in any position. But everyone has been incredibly welcoming and supportive, so I know I’ll feel at home in no time!
English Literature is a lot broader a study than it sounds—It’s not so much about reading books as it is about analyzing meaning, which I believe fits well with Kai Analytics’ use of Natural Language Processing (NLP), which was one of the things that attracted me to this position.
3. What projects are you most excited for?
I think I’m most excited to write blog posts! Our business development specialist, Mackenzie, has written some really good posts like this one on the future of qualitative analysis, and I’m really looking forward to adding to the collection and learning from my colleagues. We’ve already discussed some blog posts on some compelling subjects, and I can’t wait to write them.
4. What are some things you’re hoping to learn?
I have some experience with digital marketing, but obviously it wasn’t my area of study, so I’m hoping to learn more of the nuances of marketing over social media and specifically what we value at Kai Analytics when communicating and building relationships with our customers. I’ve learned in the past the huge impact that having feedback from experienced individuals can have, and I know my coworkers will help me grow through helpful insights on my work.
I’m also hoping that along the way I’ll become truly familiar with Kai Analytics’ specialty, qualitative data analysis, especially when it comes to Natural Language Processing (NLP). During my education, I have often felt like subjects related to the arts, such as language, are treated as completely separate and removed from sciences like data analysis, so anything that features both is fascinating to me and I think it’s important that people realize the potential for these two fields to be combined. Although I chose to pursue an arts degree, I was interested in the sciences because several people in my life were in science, so I’m always excited about any areas of overlap.
5. What do you do outside of work?
Over the past year I picked up hand sewing, which I find really relaxing. Other activities that I have pursued for longer include drawing and creative writing—specifically writing fantasy novels, which can take a long time and a lot of patience to write. I watch a lot of TV shows, and currently I’m enjoying the Book of Boba Fett and Star Trek: The Next Generation.
6. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
The ability to find any lost object. Besides being incredibly practical for my everyday life I could solve untold mysteries, discover evidence for investigations, and recover long lost historical artifacts. I could both use my powers for the good of the world and never lose anything ever again, so that would be a win-win situation for all of us.