Kyle Coletta
Former Tech Consultant | Current Grad Student | Aspiring Data Scientist
About Me
Hey, I'm Kyle! I'm a former tech consultant turned grad student, currently pursuing a Master's in Data Science at Columbia. I've always had a hard time sitting still, whether that means picking up a new skill, exploring somewhere new, or diving headfirst into a problem just to see if I can crack it.
This site documents my experiences, interests, projects, and academic and professional journeys. Take a look around — or if you'd rather just ask, ColettaBot is always happy to help!
Always on the Move
The seven unique cities I've called home.
Why Data Science?
After four years in consulting, I'd built skills I'm genuinely proud of. Between leading teams of developers and QAs, managing client expectations, and shipping large-scale systems on multi-year long projects, I learned a lot of lessons in my early career. But somewhere along the way, I realized I missed getting my hands dirty. I missed sitting down with a real problem and not getting up until I'd found the actual answer.
Data science felt like the right way to reconnect with that instinct. It's where the technical depth I loved during my CS undergrad meets real-life problem solving, and it gave me an excuse to start building things again.
Academic Journey
Master of Science in Data Science
Columbia University | 2025 - 2026(Expected)
As a current student at Columbia, I am furthering my understanding of a variety of core data science methods and applications with a variety of algorithms, data analysis, machine learning, and statistics courses.
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
University of Michigan | 2016 - 2020
During my studies at Michigan, I built the foundation of my technical skills, getting experience in both applied C++ development in practical projects, as well as learning more theoretical concepts that drive modern development.
If you want to learn more about my experiences at either university, you can ask ColettaBot for more details!
Professional Experience
Princeton Consultants
Senior Associate II | 2021 - 2025
After graduation from Michigan, I began as an Associate at Princeton Consultants, a boutique technology consulting company that works largely in the transportation industry on optimization, modernization, and application-building projects. As a Business Analyst on a large-scale modernization project, my role began with a narrow scope of working with the client product owner to define user stories and create wireframed prototypes of web application functionality. As I gained more experience, my role expanded and I took ownership of a long-term, high-budget project, managing a team of 10+ developers and QAs and leading regular research and design sessions with the client, as well as frequent presentations on project status.
Technologies/Skills: SQL, COBOL, Project Management, Jira, Product Design
Achievements:
- Led multi-year, multi-million dollar project for Fortune 500 client
- Defined and documented project-wide best practices in wireframing design, QA testing process, and User Acceptance Testing
- Structured and coordinated multiple major implementation plans and go-live scenarios
DISH Network
QA and Test Automation Intern | Summer 2019
During the summer of 2019, between my Junior and Senior year of undergrad, I spent 10 weeks as a QA and Test Automation Intern at DISH Network, familiarizing myself with their existing suite of test cases for various hardware developed and installed by DISH, then creating an automation in Python to trigger batch jobs, log the results, and feed them to a frontend visualization component to improve the ease-of-interpretation for a wide variety of tests, and decrease turnaround time for product improvement.
Technologies/Skills: Python, SQL, R, Data Visualization
Achievements:
- Developed Python script from scratch to trigger and log batch testing jobs
- Implemented connection to frontend visualization hub
- Presented process improvements and key findings to leadership
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
Business Intern | Summer 2018
After my sophomore year of undergrad, I gained experience using the technical skills I had learned at school in a real-life setting, working as a Business Intern at the SEC during the summer of 2018. Here, I took ownership of an effort to train and deploy an SVM model that identified suspicious transactions for insider trading. Using a combination of R and Python, I developed a tool that not only highlighted potential insider traders, but also gave an explanation for the model's reasoning behind flagging dubious transactions with LIME. Furthermore, I assisted on multiple other projects led by fellow interns.
Technologies/Skills: R, SQL, Machine Learning
Achievements:
- Created and deployed model that indentified suspicious traders and provided the key characteristic that determined why a trade was flagged
- Assisted in RegEx cleaning of large-scale dataset to help in differentiating between residential and corporation addresses
- Contributed to development of algorithm linking high-profile traders together and determining a proximity score
Recent Projects
📊 StatIt
JavaScript/JSX • Python • Vercel • Railway • Supabase
Natural language NFL data query interface that converts questions into SQL queries, executing against a custom backend database to deliver instant insights.
Aura Therapy Chatbot
JavaScript • Render • Python • TinyLlama • HuggingFace
Fine-tuned AI model providing free mental health support through conversational therapy.
NFL Big Data Bowl Analysis
R • Python • Pandas • Data Visualization • Jupyter
Comprehensive analysis of NFL tracking data discovering trends and metrics using advanced analytics.
LLM Prompt Improver
AWS Trainium • JavaScript • Google Chrome • TinyLlama • HuggingFace • ML
Hackathon-winning Chrome extension that analyzes and suggests improvements for LLM prompts in real-time.
Personal Interests & Hobbies
When I'm not in class, you'll find me pursuing these passions:
Passion Projects
I've recently been exploring my enjoyment of building out new projects and bringing my ideas to life. This includes participating in Hackathons or Kaggle competitions, building this site, and more to come!
Reading
I'm an avid reader of Fantasy and Sci-Fi books. Some favorite series' include Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire saga, and Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. I also enjoyed Andy Weir's The Martian and Project Hail Mary. Recently, I've been digging into more classic literature, making my way through Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, as well as Stoner, by John Williams.
Playing Tennis
I played tennis all throughout high school, as well as recreationally in college. In early 2025, I played in the Low Desert Open -- a casual, self-registered tourney in Borrego Springs, California.
Watching Sports
I'm a longtime fan of all major Detroit Sports teams, as well as University of Michigan teams. Go Blue!
Travel
I always love visiting new places and experiencing new cultures. Most recently, I took a 2 week solo trip to Portugal during the summer of 2025, visiting Lisbon, Porto, and the Azores Islands.
Gaming
On calmer nights, I enjoy catching up with friends over Discord, playing games together from chess to, FPS games, to MMORPGs.