All About Me

My name is Kristal Abel and I am a non-traditional college student. I received
my first college degree waaaayyyy back in 2001 from Miami University in Elementary
Education. I am a mom to a 17-year-old who is getting ready to graduate high
school and begin her own college career. I have three stepsons (ages 8, 11, and 13).
I also have three adorable dogs; a terrier mix named Jessie, a chihuahua named Penny,
and a corgi named Ein. I work full-time as a customer service manager at a local
manufacturing company and recently earned my Associates Degree in Business
Management Technology from UC Online. And, because my life isn’t crazy enough,
this is my first semester towards the AI for Business Graduate Certificate. Weekends
are filled with driving the boys to their various activities, volunteering for
my daughter’s band events (she plays percussion for the Milford Marching Band and
Winter Percussion Ensemble), and homework.

My mom and I celebrating our birthdays last November.

My mom and I celebrating our birthdays last November.

Academic Background

Professional Background

I taught 2nd grade for 4 years before embarking on a long list of job titles (including
Stay-at-Home Mom for 5 years). However, I finally feel like I have found a career at my
current company, EXAIR. After being in Order Entry/Customer Service for about 14 months,
I was offered the Customer Service Manager position. Our company has implemented a lot
of new technology lately, and it has become evident that there is an opportunity to become
more involved in the technology and data analytics side of the business.

R Newbie

When I researching the AI for Business Graduate Certificate at UC, the website stated
knowledge of computer programming wasn’t necessary, but it was helpful. I immediately
enrolled in Harvard’s free online Intro to Computer Science class (CS50X) and jumped
right in. They did an introduction to Scratch, C, Python, SQL, and HTML. However, I had
never heard of R until I was reading the syllabus for this course! Even though R wasn’t
a program they used in CS50X, I’m grateful that I was introduced to all of the other
programs as R has similar syntax and style (so far!)

Analytic Software Experience

Does Excel count? I have used Excel in every job to collect and analyze data. The more I
learn about programming languages and the tools available, the more I realize how much
time I have wasted over the years! While it is all a little overwhelming, I am excited to
transfer my new knowledge to my work responsibilities.