I was interested in learning R because it is statistics and economics related of which I share the same field -- GLORIA ENYONAM LARYEA.

Posted on August 14 2025

MY PERSONAL JOURNEY AND EXPERIENCE WITH R.

Learning R was definitely not an easy one. I was interested in learning R because it is statistics and economics related of which I share the same field.

You might be wondering why I say it was not easy right? Well this is it; I began learning R with an organization by name The Coders Who Travel Foundation in a program dubbed 'Everyone Can Code'.

I happened to be about nine lectures behind as they had already began the semester yet I joined with the hope that I could still catch up and perhaps, perform even better.
Lessons were in a form of video meetings via Microsoft teams. I scheduled about 4 hours each day to watch the lecture videos and practice as well. Due to school resumption, I had to reduce the time allocated to R to two hours a day. To be honest, I was still behind. R had certain similarities with Python(a computer language) so I found some parts easier than others.

I realized I was still behind so I started using an R textbook to try to catch up. Like they say, practice makes perfect but I wasn’t practicing what was being taught in class.

Each of the students in the class were given projects, basically to retrieve data from sources given and analyze in whatever way we could(to play with the data if you like). It then dawned on me that I could not go without practicing and get a good outcome for my project so I then again widened my horizon. I combined the online lessons with the textbook as well as online searches to grasp the topics faster and easier since I had less time now.

There were numerous times my codes didn’t work to the extent that I got discouraged at times. During times like that, taking a break to clear my head worked quite well. I had to gain more knowledge in order to start my project work. All things being equal, I learnt enough about three weeks to the presentation of project works. At this very point, the stuff I had to do in school also became cumbersome and I thought of giving up or not showing for the presentation altogether but I balanced it out and got my project done and dusted.

I would say good teachers make good students. No doubt, our instructors were very good and patient and encouraged us at all times to practice.

One thing I learnt during my End of Semester presentation to Judges from Deloitte is to always state the why of your work before you get into it. I explored the Salaries of the US Industries to understand the sectors that may be lucrative for Immigrants from Africa.

From the whole experience, I would say when there is a will, there is a way and I also learnt to avoid doing things at the very last minute. All in all, it was tough yet educational and enlightening.

With warm regards,

Gloria Enyonam Laryea