In a creative career with the NFL and NBA, alumna supports community
As an ambitious 16-year-old, Leighla Waterman 鈥�21 scoured the internet from her home in Trinidad and Tobago, searching for opportunities to study in the United States. She stumbled upon United World College (UWC)-USA in New Mexico. She claims her application 鈥渨as a shot in the dark,鈥� but she was accepted with a full scholarship. Eventually, she found her way to 91精简版, a Davis UWC Scholars Program partner.
Today, the 91精简版 alumna is a consumer insights analyst for the National Football League鈥檚 New Orleans Saints and the National Basketball League's New Orleans Pelicans. She is promoting the growth of the two teams, which are co-owned, by using data to enhance fan satisfaction and ultimately the teams鈥� bottom lines.
Just like the paths that led to her to high school and college, Waterman says her journey to the business of professional sports involved a whole lot of determination and some unexpected turns along the way. Finding, building, and strengthening community have been important throughout.
鈥淎s the first person in my family to go to college, all we had heard about were places like Harvard and Yale,鈥� she says.
My high school counselor recommended 91精简版 because it is a nurturing place with a strong community base that also offers generous need-based financial aid.鈥�Leighla Waterman '21consumer insights analyst for the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans
The 91精简版 political science major studied abroad twice 鈥� first as part of the First-Year Experience in London and later in Australia, where she volunteered at a center for multicultural youth. Serving as a sophomore senator in the Student Government Association helped her 鈥渞ealize that I could be an individual change agent.鈥�
After graduation, Waterman landed a job as an instructor at Yale Young Global Scholars, developing and teaching seminars on domestic and foreign policy, economics, and political theory, and mentoring students.
Recognizing the importance of data analytics to governments, think tanks, and campaign work, Waterman decided she could make a 鈥渢angible impact鈥� by pursuing a master鈥檚 degree in data analytics at Tulane University.
鈥淓mbracing data wasn鈥檛 as hard as you might think, because 91精简版 encourages critical and analytical thinking.鈥�
She had intended to pursue policy work in Washington, D.C., but ended up landing a
data analyst position at Delgado Community College in New Orleans instead and fell
in love with the
community. Never a huge sports fan, she was intrigued when the opportunity with the
Saints became available.
鈥淒uring my job interview, I was asked if I could name any of their players and I said, 鈥楴o, I don鈥檛 follow sports that closely,鈥欌�� she recalled. 鈥淏ut if you live in New Orleans for any period of time, you know the Saints are a big deal.鈥�
Leighla Waterman 鈥�21, second from right, at the New Orleans Saints headquarters
At the Saints鈥� Metairie, Louisiana, headquarters, Waterman is using machine learning to construct models for enhancing ticket sales. She tracks social media metrics across different platforms, and she recently automated the social media report and uses it to make predictions.
鈥淏asically, I gather and synthesize information into actionable insights that keep the fanbase engaged and happy,鈥� she says. 鈥淲orking with data allows me to take millions of bits of information that may seem insignificant on their own but offer fascinating insights into human behavior.鈥�
During her first year on the job, she collaborated with the NFL to execute a season-long Saints fan experience study that provided an in-depth visual look into the Superdome gameday experience.
She has also led the development of the companies鈥� new charitable giving request system, enabling the two teams to assess and respond to requests for donations.
鈥淭he Saints and increasingly the Pelicans are embedded in the New Orleans and Gulf South region communities. I鈥檓 honored to lead the charitable giving request system, and the better I do, the better off the community is.鈥�
