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Politics has always been a point of passion for graduate Craig Wilding, M.S.\u201921, who is using his background in the computer sciences to make an impact on the local political landscape.<\/p>\n
Wilding recently won the Maps Across America \u201cRedistricting Contest,” where he was tasked with redistributing a population of over 21.6 million people in a hyperreal simulation set in the state of Florida.<\/p>\n
Judges were particularly impressed by the precision of Wilding\u2019s map and gave him high marks for his representation of majority-minority demographics. His score on partisan metrics\u2014including political bias, efficiency and declination\u2014scored near perfect.<\/p>\n
Wilding built a career around computer programming, but was intrigued enough by politics to return to school at 50. His background is something he nods to as a useful supplement to his current goals as a political scientist.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to see politics as something people just argued about,\u201d said Wilding. \u201cNow I see it as an opportunity to research and solve problems. This view comes from my background. Computers were always breaking. It wasn\u2019t something to argue about. It was always about how to fix it. I can apply that philosophy to politics.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the Fall of 2019, Wilding entered the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs’ Master\u2019s program, where his passion for political science finally had the chance to develop.\u00a0 For example, Wilding now uses his programming background to analyze voter data for the Seminole County Democratic Party. This niche area of data appeals to Wilding because of its capacity to propel worthy candidates forward on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe data I analyze can be translated into useable, political data that pushes progressive movements forward,\u201d said Wilding.<\/p>\n
Wilding plans to continue analyzing voter data and applying it to research-based roles rooted in local politics.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn politics, you always have people arguing about who is right or who is wrong. There is no productivity in that,\u201d said Wilding. \u201cThat\u2019s what I would like to change. I want there to be less fragmentation, and more practicality.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Politics has always been a point of passion for graduate Craig Wilding, M.S.\u201921, who is using his background in the computer sciences to make an impact on the local political landscape. Wilding recently won the Maps Across America \u201cRedistricting Contest,” where he was tasked with redistributing a population of over 21.6 million people in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134,"featured_media":29131,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[38,13,5967,5377,16,28],"tags":[6346],"class_list":["post-29130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-news","category-notables","category-research","category-political-science-departments","category-top-news","tag-spsia"],"yoast_head":"\n