Shapiro received his bachelor of arts and master of arts degrees at Laurentian. "I came to Sudbury for Laurentian and ended up staying for twelve years," Shapiro fondly recalls. "The classes were engaging, and the students and teachers were dynamic. I remember thinking, 'this is what university should be like'."
Shapiro embraced every opportunity as a student at Laurentian University. He participated in several clubs, often stepping into leadership roles. He valued his relationships with professors, cultivating lifelong mentorships. His academic journey was driven by both his interests and the strong connections he formed.
“There are so many unique opportunities at Laurentian, like model parliament, that other schools don’t have,” he says. “At one point during my undergrad, I was on the executive of nine different student groups. There’s a really great, dynamic community at Laurentian that is so engaging. It makes connecting with others socially and academically easy.”
After earning his PhD, he spent six years at Cambrian College, where he developed, taught in, and coordinated the Business Analytics graduate program. He then worked as a data science manager at Sofvie, developing software for occupational health and safety in the mining industry. Now Shapiro is an assistant professor at the Dhillon School of Business and an adjunct assistant professor of computer science at the University of Lethbridge, specializing in business analytics. His ongoing interest in data analytics, AI, and social media analytics represents an evolution from his arts-based academic beginnings. Shapiro notes that these fields are more interconnected than they might initially appear.
"As a student, I was hired to support several research projects,” Shapiro recalls. “Through these experiences, I discovered that within the arts, both qualitative and quantitative research utilizing computer science and program evaluation tools can be leveraged to analyze data effectively."
These experiential learning opportunities helped him determine his interests. “I became an expert at the intersection of social and computer science, utilizing cutting-edge research tools for data collection, organizing, and analysis as a means of better understanding the impact of a given social problem,” he says.
Shapiro parlayed that opportunity into a career path. He says that new data collection methods, like social media analytics, must be leveraged to support research in the social sciences. Shapiro makes an important point about the impact of such data, “When it comes down to funding in the public sector and not-for-profits, it’s really about storytelling,” he says. “Those stories are contextualized by qualitative data and grounded in quantitative data.”
His initial path in the arts did not have an explicit trajectory toward data analytics, but it ultimately led to a fulfilling career in the field. Shapiro's education and openness to opportunities demonstrate that arts degrees can open doors to diverse and limitless career possibilities.