CDS Roots to Global Data Science: Ati Saxena ’19 on Curiosity, Community, and Impact

Ati Saxena '19 traces the foundation of her academic and professional journey back to her time at CDS, where curiosity, challenge, and community shaped the path she would ultimately follow.

At CDS, Ati was deeply involved in both academics and athletics, experiences she credits with shaping her resilience and sense of direction. In the classroom, she was continually pushed to go further than she thought possible, especially in the sciences. She reflects on the influence of her teachers with clarity, noting how formative those relationships were in shaping her interests long before she declared them in college. “From academics to athletics CDS faculty pushed me to become the best version of myself,” she shared. “They made sure I never wanted to be the smartest person in the room and actively encouraged me to thrive in discomfort.”

One of the most pivotal academic influences came from Mrs. Williams, whose encouragement helped Ati step into advanced biology coursework with confidence. That experience ultimately sparked a lasting interest in neuroscience. “If it weren't for Mrs. Williams, I would have never taken bio, never studied the neurobiology HL option, and never loved it enough to want to major in Neuroscience when I got to school,” she said. Mrs. Johnson also played an important role in shaping her academic curiosity, particularly through chemistry, which helped broaden her early interests in the sciences.

On the athletic side, CDS soccer was central to her high school experience. She describes the program as a constant source of support and belonging, with coaches and teammates shaping both her time on campus and her confidence beyond it. “Coach Holyman was truly like a second mother to me and I don't think I could ever thank her enough for shaping me into the person I am today,” Ati shared. She also credits Coach Holyman with pushing her beyond comfort zones, even encouraging her to join cross country to build endurance for the demands of the game.

Some of her strongest memories remain tied to team traditions and shared experiences, beach trips, pre-game rituals, and classroom moments filled with humor and connection. “Without fail, my favorite CDS memory every year was the annual soccer beach trip or the hours before any district soccer games,” she recalled. “To this day I remember the cookie challenges or Carli and Emma Frost saying almost every word of She’s the Man as we watched in Coach Johnson's classroom before a Seffner game.”

Even school traditions left a lasting impression. Ati points to Patriot Buddies as a program she deeply admired, reflecting on how meaningful it was to build cross-grade connections across campus. “To say I was devastated when I realized I was one year off from being Emma Holyman's Patriot Buddy would be an understatement,” she said. “As someone that always wanted an older sibling… I thought it was an amazing way to stay connected to the younger students on campus and create exciting opportunities for both classes to interact with one another.”

It is this combination of academic challenge, athletic community, and mentorship that Ati says defined her CDS experience, and ultimately set the tone for everything that followed...

After graduating from CDS, Ati moved to New York in August 2019 to attend Barnard College, where she pursued a rigorous and highly interdisciplinary path, earning a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and behavior, economics, and mathematics. She later continued her studies through a competitive joint program with Columbia University, completing a master’s in management science and engineering with a concentration in data analytics through Columbia Business School and the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Initially drawn to finance and engineering, sparked, in part, by watching Draft Day and Moneyball and imagining a career in that kind of analytical, fast-paced environment, Ati entered college as an economics major. Her academic direction soon expanded after enrolling in chemistry, a subject she quickly grew to love. That early interest was shaped in part by her experience at CDS and her chemistry teacher, Mrs. Johnson.

Her academic path became even more intentional during her first year of college. After returning home to Tampa for Thanksgiving, she mapped out a long-term plan that ultimately included a double major in economics and mathematics alongside neuroscience and behavior. That interdisciplinary ambition was also influenced by her experience in high school biology, where Mrs. Williams played a pivotal role in deepening her interest in the sciences.

Ati’s undergraduate years were marked by both academic intensity and global experience. During her sophomore summer, she completed a condensed program at the London School of Economics. She also stepped into leadership as president of her sorority during junior year and spent her junior summer working in a neuroscience lab for her thesis, which focused on understanding human perception of numbers under time constraints. By senior year, she was balancing teaching assistant responsibilities while completing two theses, including one in economics and mathematics exploring how Twitter sentiment impacted stock performance.

She also learned she had been accepted into Columbia’s 4+1 program, allowing her to complete her master’s degree in an accelerated timeline, which made doing her undergrad and master's in five years possible. 

During her master's program, Ati gained valuable real world experience by applying advanced data science and predictive analytics to a diverse range of projects. While working with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), she helped develop predictive models related to political violence, including one that accurately anticipated the political conditions leading up to the removal of Bangladesh's president. She also built a predictive model for the FIFA World Cup that correctly forecasted Argentina winning the championship in a penalty shootout. In addition, Ati worked with Kering, where she applied her analytical expertise to optimize global supply chain operations. Together, these experiences allowed her to bridge the gap between the classroom and the real world, using data to solve complex challenges across international development, sports, and global business. 

Ati also completed an internship with Capital One in Washington, D.C., where she worked in customer resiliency strategy. At the conclusion of the internship, she received a full time offer and joined the company in New York City in August 2024. There, she became part of the travel team, contributing to a travel portal that felt like working at a startup, but at a big company. In August 2025, she transitioned to the Emerging Payments team, where she now works on expanding the company's virtual wallet experience. Capital One's rotational program has given her the opportunity to build expertise across multiple teams while continuing to grow as a data scientist.

Today, Ati values both the technical and human side of her work. She enjoys developing consumer facing products, taking ownership of meaningful projects, and collaborating across teams to solve complex challenges. Just as importantly, she appreciates the culture that drew her to both Barnard and Capital One. Throughout the interview process, she found that employees consistently spoke about the company's collaborative and supportive environment, reinforcing the same sense of community that made Barnard the right fit for her. Living in New York has made this chapter especially meaningful, with family and friends nearby, including her sister, Simran Saxena ’21.

From her days at CDS to applying data science on a global scale, Ati's journey reflects the power of curiosity, purpose, and community. Thank you, Ati, for sharing your reflections on your time at CDS and for showing us where your path has taken you since. We look forward to seeing all that comes next.