Meet the Data Analyst Intern: Jack Warner

How do Dragon Ball and data analysis come together? For intern Jack Warner, they combine a childhood passion with a career desire.

Jack is a Masters’ degree student at Michigan State University’s Business Data Science & Analytics program. He serves as the data analyst intern for The Dao of Dragon Ball website, collecting data from the various platforms and suggesting ways to improve the site for visitors.

“My passion and interest for data analysis comes from a general curiosity about the world. My long term goal is to be an artificial intelligence researcher, because I believe that through computers we can learn about ourselves through the use of neural networks. I believe data analysis is a way to look at the world on a larger scale and think about problem solving from a detailed and specific aspect.”

The interest in analysis carries into Warner’s other interests. He is an avid chess player, and believes the two share similarities.

“If you look at a chess board, it’s basic and all the pieces have the same roles, and you know what is possible from each piece, but through that there is an unlimited amount of combinations that can happen on the board. It’s just adaptive problem solving, and that’s how I look at data analysis. You use similar techniques across similar types of problems but each problem is unique in itself. I enjoy the thinking, the planning, and what pieces I have at my disposal.”

As for Dragon Ball Z, he shares similar roots to many kids in America who got into the show: Late night Toonami on Cartoon Network.

“I must’ve been two or three years old. It was the first cartoon that I was drawn to. I loved the connection between the characters, like the way Goku and Gohan would fight together. I thought it was very cool when I was young. Just the depth of story between the characters.”

For Warner, it was important to put the interests together, and he was excited about this internship.

“I was looking forward to combining the two because when it comes to any project if you can combine two passions it just makes the work much more inspiring, it feels easier and you are excited to do it.”

Being an intern for the site has given him an in-depth look at the fanbase’s interests and what they are drawn to. While the size of the fanbase may not be a surprise, the level of passion across it has stood out for him.

“I was always aware that there was a large fandom behind Dragon Ball, but seeing the depths at which people enjoy it to the fullest extent, take lessons from it, really learn from it, and keep it as a core part of their morals and beliefs, they reflect on those from seeing those motifs in Dragon Ball. I think that’s been the most interesting part.”

Follow Jack on Twitter and Instagram.

Want to be an intern on this site? Please contact Derek. You must be an active student to receive school credit.