Deploying Data ‘With a Heart’

Growing up the daughter of a math teacher, Gabriela Eastwood ’26 says she was primed to pursue the subject in college.

“But I never wanted to be a pure math person,” she adds with a smile.

At Smith, Eastwood has taken courses in Italian (she is a double major in statistical and data sciences and Italian studies), policy analysis, and political thought. She has also worked on projects aimed at addressing hunger, including an internship with the Rockbridge Area Relief Association in Virginia, and a research project on food affordability in Florence, Italy.

The combination of her quantitative skills and her interest in social issues led to Eastwood’s being awarded an inaugural Harris Social Impact Fellowship by the University of Chicago. As one of 15 soon-to-be college graduates in the program’s first cohort, she will participate in intensive summer studies at the university’s Harris School of Public Policy, followed by nine months of work in a research and policy center (Eastwood will be working at the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation).

The aim of the new fellowship is “to bring exceptional analytical talent into careers and organizations where rigorous evidence can make a meaningful difference,” according to the awards announcement. The first group of fellows was selected from nearly 800 applicants with interests in multiple disciplines including computer science, epidemiology, and environmental science.

Eastwood—who traveled to Chicago for the first time to interview for the fellowship—says the focus of the Harris program “is just so well suited to my own interests.”

“I’m excited about meeting the rest of the cohort,” she adds. “They’re all interesting people and it’s cool to know I’ll be part of that community.”

At Smith, Eastwood has put her mathematical skills to work on projects ranging from civic  engagement to sports.

She is currently collaborating with Ben Baumer, professor of statistical and data sciences, on a paper they hope to publish about modeling attendance at WNBA games. (Andrew Zimbalist, Robert A. Woods Professor Emeritus of Economics, is also working on the project).

“Gabriela started this as her final project for Sports Analytics last fall and based on the promise of that research, I invited her to continue working with me,” Baumer says. 

“I’ve always been impressed with Gabriela’s inquisitiveness and both her willingness to ask questions, and the depth of thought that those questions reveal,” he adds. “Her ability to contribute to this research has been remarkable and I think she has a bright future ahead of her.”

Eastwood’s focus on food justice began in high school, when she volunteered with a food pantry near her hometown in rural southwest Virginia. She later returned to do a Smith Praxis program internship at the pantry.

“That gave me an appreciation for how so much of what these nonprofits do is a patchwork,” Eastwood says. “They are reliant on how many people donate to them, and that can’t be our only solution as a society” to systemic problems such as inequality and hunger.

Her capstone project for her major involved using AI to read and sort emails that voters sent to their political representatives in order to help streamline the process of securing responses from those elected officials.

“I don’t trust the money behind AI or the people in charge of it,” Eastwood says. “But my professor encouraged me: ‘You need to learn to use these tools.’”

Casey Bohlen, Mellon Visiting Assistant Professor in History and Public Discourse, says he and Eastwood “sometimes joke that she likes data, but with a heart.”

“Gabriela insists upon seeing data as a means, rather than an end in itself,” Bohlen says. “And because of that moral clarity, she can wield social scientific tools with both skill and humility, always aiming to enhance the dignity of ordinary people and local communities.”

Being awarded a Harris fellowship is a chance to use her technical skills to offer support for projects “in places where they can do the most good,” Eastwood says. In the future, she hopes to continue exploring solutions to food insecurity, and may even apply for a Fulbright to do more research on global food networks.

At Smith, Eastwood’s senior bucket list includes taking a boat out on Paradise Pond—“something I’ve still never done,” she says.

Her advice for new students?

“I feel like Smith is wonderful because you really can try things,” Eastwood says. “I would urge people, especially in STEM, to take a wide range of classes. If a professor is good, take as many classes as you can with them. Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself!”