People Are The How: My PATH

David Orvek's My PATH Excerpt Photo

David’s PATH

I started at PATH as a research intern in the summer between my master’s and PhD programs. My academic background is in the humanities, specifically music history and theory. During my master’s, my research focused on the mathematical structures inherent within musical chords and scales and the ways in which composers have made use of these structures in their music.

Along the way, I developed a skill set that I felt would be valuable beyond the world of academia, and I was eager to utilize my experience in the professional world. My worry, however, was that I would have a hard time finding an opportunity to use these skills because my schooling did not appear relevant on paper beyond the world of academia. What I needed was a company that was willing to take a chance on me and provide me with an opportunity to prove myself. Despite my non-traditional background and lack of business experience, PATH was willing to take that chance.

I was hired mainly to learn and teach new data visualization software that was being implemented into the research process, but very quickly, I was given opportunities well beyond the scope of my initial position. PATH gave me a platform to translate my skills from my music theory program into business-related skills. Despite my humanities background, I’ve successfully evolved as a business character

During my time at PATH:

  • I created reports and presentations for their clients

  • I was the point of contact for potential business partnerships

  • I took part in survey design and implementation.

The partners never seemed concerned by my lack of experience and always went out of their way to give me opportunities to develop myself. Their confidence in me was incredibly inspiring, and I learned so much about business and my own abilities during my internship.

PATH is a successful company because they not only help their clients to grow but also their own employees. Moving forward I know that the experience I have gained from my time at PATH will not only have helped to prepare me for work outside the world of academia, but will also have made me a better and more confident researcher.






Sarah Ahern