Posted 8:41 a.m. Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Grad student reflects on her college journey leading up to 3 Minute Grad Project Competition
This March 26, Kacie O’Hearn will explain how advanced statistical techniques can predict heart disease by distilling 14 dimensions of patient data into just two. If it sounds complex — that’s because it is. Yet, O’Hearn will have just three minutes to make her research clear to an audience and panel of judges. That’s the challenge of Graduate Studies' annual Three Minute Grad Project Competition.
Likewise, it’s complex to summarize all the events that have gotten O’Hearn to this moment in time. It’s a moment when she is ready to confidently explain graduate level mathematics to a crowd of lay people. It’s a moment when she is set to walk across the stage to accept her graduate degree in applied statistics. And it’s a moment when she is prepared to embark on a new journey at the University of Iowa to earn a doctoral degree in biostatistics.
Still, we’ll give it a try. Here is the story of how O’Hearn arrived at the culmination of her graduate studies — in just three magical moments.
Moment 1: Meeting faculty
The first turning point came during O’Hearn's second semester at UWL, when she was still undecided about whether to major in business or mathematics. Initially drawn to a career as an actuary, she began having discussions with her microeconomics professor, Marissa Eckrote-Nordland, about her future. What began as casual chats after class evolved into regular visits to Eckrote-Nordland’s office hours, where O’Hearn found not just academic advice, but guidance about life.
“Whenever I went to her office, I wasn’t just talking about course material—I was talking about my future,” O’Hearn says. “She was always so welcoming and open to those conversations.”
As O’Hearn connected with more faculty members, she found that the openness and willingness to help were ubiquitous across campus. The more O’Hearn opened up to meeting faculty, the more they gave of their time and expertise. O’Hearn credits these connections with giving her the confidence and support to apply to the doctoral program at the University of Iowa, something she might never have considered otherwise.
“There are so many different faculty that I had connections with across campus,” she says. "That is definitely something that has shaped my experience.”
In particular, O’Hearn is grateful to her Advisor Melissa Bingham who took her on as a research assistant. “Without her and that research experience I would not have been admitted to a Ph.D. program,” she says. “Much of my success is a result of her mentoring.”
Moment 2: Becoming an independent learner
The second transformative moment occurred in a Calculus 2 class during O’Hearn’s freshman year, where she was introduced to the importance of curiosity outside the classroom by Mathematics & Statistics Professor Tushar Das.
“In all of his classes, he would plug the idea of being curious and exploring ideas on your own outside of class,” she said.
She took this advice to heart, spending hours outside of class experimenting with an online graphing calculator to manipulate mathematical sequences and functions in greater depth.
Her growing independence in learning became particularly crucial when she decided to pursue certification as an actuary. The certification process required passing multiple rigorous exams, and O’Hearn dedicated 900 hours to self-study over the course of her undergraduate years, ultimately earning sufficient credentials to work in the actuarial industry.
“UWL taught me how to be an independent, lifelong learner,” she says. “I don’t need to be in a classroom to keep learning and evolving on my own terms.”
Moment 3: Embracing discomfort
The third pivotal moment came during a master's-level statistics course, when David Elzinga, assistant professor of Mathematics & Statistics, assigned a challenging project that required predicting flight delays using Python, a programming language she wasn’t yet proficient in. Struggling to find a solution, O’Hearn visited Elzinga’s office hours for guidance.
It was there that she received a piece of advice that she subsequently heard from many other graduate faculty: Embrace discomfort.
“I would consider myself a weak person coming into college,” O’Hearn admits with a smile. “But my professors always encouraged me to embrace discomfort because it’s where real growth happens.”
Elzinga didn’t provide an easy solution that day, but his encouragement to keep trying helped O’Hearn push through the frustration. By the end of the project, she had successfully created a predictive model, a feat she initially thought was beyond her capabilities.
“I’ve grown so much through this graduate program, and I’ve learned a lot,” she reflects. “But what stands out most is the incredible people I’ve met along the way. Each interaction has taught me something valuable.”
The Three Minute Grad Project Competition
O’Hearn will present her research, “Forecasting Heart Disease: The Power of Prediction,” during the Three Minute Grad Project competition at 6 p.m. on March 26 in 1400 Centennial Hall. Heart disease is the leading cause of death globally, and O’Hearn’s presentation will explore how statistical techniques can predict its onset based on a patient’s symptoms —a crucial tool for improving efficiency in emergency rooms worldwide.
At the competition, graduate students will compete for scholarships by presenting their work in a way that engages a general audience, adhering to the strict three-minute time limit. A panel of community judges will evaluate the presentations based on content, engagement, and communication. The audience is invited to participate by voting for the People's Choice Award.
For O’Hearn, this competition marks the culmination of years of hard work, perseverance, and guidance from faculty who have played an integral role in her journey. It’s a moment to celebrate how far she’s come.