Purdue alumna Kristen Mori shares career insights as machine learning engineer with Houston Astros during campus visit

Purdue alumna Kristen Mori, who works as a machine learning engineer with the Houston Astros, recently revisited campus through the Rising Professionals program. During her visit, Mori visited with Honors College students and Sports Analytics at Purdue members to provide professional insights on career success.

Revisiting Purdue through Rising Professionals

Rising Professionals is a program developed to honor accomplished recent Purdue alumni with the chance to revisit the university and share the wealth of knowledge they’ve acquired in their exciting careers.

Kristen Mori graduated from Purdue in 2018 as a student of both the John Martinson Honors College (JMHC) and the College of Science, earning a degree in statistics and mathematics and computer science. Upon graduating from Purdue, Mori was hired as an R&D analyst by the Houston Astros before advancing to machine learning engineer one year later. The Astros have won three American League pennants and a World Series title since Mori joined the organization.

Founding Sports Analytics at Purdue

As a student, Mori founded Sports Analytics at Purdue, a club dedicated to helping students learn more about statistical careers in sports and giving them a space to socialize and network.

“Sports Analytics at Purdue was something I wanted to create since my freshman year, but it stayed on the back burner until my junior year,” Mori said. “I reached out to Dwaine Jengelley to serve as our primary advisor and gathered some officers and members—once I had that support, we hit the ground running.”

Mori speaking with Sports Analytics at Purdue members and JMHC students during her visit

Dwaine Jengelley, JMHC clinical assistant professor and director of Interdisciplinary Sports Studies (ISS), commented on how the club remains important to Mori.

“I know that one of her proudest moments is seeing that the club is still here and doing well,” Jengelley shared. “The type of leadership she exhibited was about finding a way to make a difference. I'm not sure if she ever anticipated leaving such a lasting legacy, but her hard work certainly has. It's fascinating to see how much interest the club has generated, even attracting prospective students to campus.”

Learning as a Multidisciplinary Student

Mori spent much of her time as a student looking for opportunities inside and outside the classroom to continue taking steps toward her goal of a career in sports analytics.

“The Learning Beyond the Classroom program offered by the College of Science helped push me to experience as much as I could as a student. Without the support of the program, I wouldn’t have been able to attend the sports analytics events that helped prepare me for my career with the Astros,” Mori said.

One such conference was the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, which Mori attributed to helping her better expand her goal of working in sports analytics. In addition to the classes and resources of the College of Science, Mori also took a variety of different classes as a student in the JMHC.

“My classes in the Honors College, while I didn’t realize it at the time, changed how I approach solving problems. A class I still remember well was my sports and politics class with Dr. Jengelley. It’s important to be able to think critically and creatively to solve a problem in different ways, and my professors in the Honors College helped me hone those skills.”

Owen Hughes

Communication Assistant for Teaching and Learning, hughe357@purdue.edu