ESU success story: Alyssa Foster

East Stroudsburg University’s Alyssa Foster, a junior computer science major from Brodheadsville, Pa., has joined the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) advanced data analytics team as an intern for the fall 2025 semester. PASSHE is a partnership with ESU that provides valuable internship experience aimed at shaping the success of future Warriors at the university.

In her role, Foster has been tasked with digging into the data behind ESU’s first-generation student population with the goal of using the findings to influence policy and programmatic decisions at the university.

“Since there isn’t a pre-established pipeline directly into the work we do in higher education, I see this opportunity as building a pipeline to our profession that gets students interested in what we do, gets them into our profession, and then allows them to establish a career,” said Natalie Cartwright, director and chief data officer of PASSHE’s Office of Advanced Data Analytics.

Working under Cartwright and her team, Foster is combing through years of aggregated data on first-generation students – including their backgrounds, experiences at ESU, outcomes after graduation, and more – in search of patterns and trends that can be molded into future outcomes.

Foster said that using data to fulfill an important goal at her university is an aspect of data analytics that first drew her to the field.

“It’s been a very cool experience realizing that I made a good decision going into the career I’m interested in, and it’s been so much fun discovering how interesting the work is and passionate in it I am,” Foster said.

She learned of the PASSHE internship thanks to another data-centered role she holds within ESU’s College of Business Management. In that job, she analyzes data from the university website’s Admissions chatbot – a feature that allows users to ask admissions questions that can be answered quickly online.

While in that role, Foster was approached by Sylvester Williams, dean of the College of Business Management, about the opportunity at PASSHE. Williams encouraged Foster to apply, she said.

“He said I’d be a perfect fit for it,” she said.

Now, those internships are having a positive impact on not only her future, but also her present.

“Since I’m using programs in my internships that we use in class, I’m not only taking classes that help me succeed in my internships, but what I’m doing in my internships is helping me in my classes,” she said.

Foster’s enthusiasm for analyzing data was apparent from day one of the internship.

“She is super excited about the topic and the data analytics side of taking a data set and transforming it into something meaningful,” Cartwright said. “We’re looking forward to the project advancing because I think what she’s going to accomplish will be outstanding.”

Cartwright noted that Foster, and other students with data analytics careers in mind, are entering the field at an ideal time.

“It’s growing, it’s in demand, and there really isn’t a profession where the data analytics skillset isn’t being used,” Cartwright said.

East Stroudsburg University currently offers a minor in business analytics through the College of Business Management, which provides a joint certification with Statistical Analysis System (SAS) upon completion. It is the only program in Pennsylvania to offer the joint certification and minor.