Every Wabash man enrolled here for a reason- some similar, some different. My reason was multi-faceted, but chief among them is that Wabash was able to provide opportunities that
very few, if any, other colleges and universities could. I knew that any idea, big or small, Wabash would not only listen to but make a reality. I approached Economics Professor Dr. Dunaway back early in Fall of 2022 about some thoughts I had regarding DraftKings Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS). He came back to me the next day with a proposed internship centered around an idea he had to create a new way of modeling fantasy outcomes. From there, the details fell into place, the schedule set, funding received, and ideas swirled. Throughout eight weeks in June and July, Dr. Dunaway and I scoured data sets, brainstormed, and wrote code. When we weren’t “in the lab”, I had the opportunity to attend various summer events, such as the joint presentation of Dr. Dunaway and Brent Harris at the Liberal Arts at Play camp where they discussed gambling, data, and how both are being applied to the modern NFL.
Over the course of the summer and my internship, I learned things about myself that will assuredly prove to be invaluable over the coming years. I learned how to be fully independent, I learned to fully manage my schedule, and I learned how to work effectively on research. I also learned how to play golf better. I played a lot of golf over the summer. Like, a lot. The course manager thinks I’m really good (I’m not). At this point, I’d like to encourage active and prospective Wabash students to dream big and ask questions. There is someone here to answer every question and explore every idea you have, even the silly ones. Finally, I’d like to thank Dr. Dunaway for giving up his summer to write code in the basement of Baxter, Brent Harris for mentoring me in even the smallest ways, and most of all to Tom and Martha Hays Grant, for without them, none of this could have been possible.
