Meet Raquel, and I'm passionate about learning and connecting with people

As a child, you'd find me buried in books at the library after school – reading was my escape and my joy. That love of learning even earned me recognition as my school's top reader, something I am still proud of.

Following My Curiosity

My curiosity and adaptability meant I never settled on just one career path, I work in different industries and sectors. My fascination with people and culture led me to study Social Communication and to leave my country (Brazil) to explore cultures and to meet new people.

Here in the UK, I've worked in IT and finance, focusing on customer relationships. But I wanted to do more than just help customers, I wanted to truly understand customer behaviour trends. And in today's world, that means understanding data. After all, which company makes decisions without solid data insights?

That's when I realised I needed to develop my data analysis skills.

Discovering The Curious Academy

I started searching for data analysis courses, and most were online, until I found The Curious Academy. I immediately fell in love. The website was vibrant and creative, and they offered in-person lessons!

On my first day, I knew I'd found something special. The lounge was an amazing place to study, cozy and friendly (and to have the best coffee in Reading). I was completely enchanted.

Matt truly ensures you get your hands dirty with real data. The materials are excellent, and you receive tons of resources. I wasn't a "data person" at all when I started, but by the end of the course, I couldn't believe what I'd accomplished. Most importantly, everyone gets involved, no one feels left behind. I finished my course with my confidence renewed.

The best part of the course came when I had just one week left before my final presentation and no idea what to present. In that single week, I created a survey, gathered information, extracted insights, and built a dashboard. And it looked good! I discovered I really enjoyed working with data visualisation. As a visual person, I loved playing around and finding the best way to show my peers a dashboard that not only brings insights but also captures the attention of my audience.

When I finished my presentation, I felt this incredible rush of accomplishment – "dan dan"

The Challenge Was Worth It

I won't lie – it wasn't easy. It was a significant challenge that pushed me completely out of my comfort zone. But I did it! I went from having zero data skills to confidently analysing and presenting insights, thanks to Matt's support and The Curious Academy's incredible resources.

The key? Be kind to yourself, stay resilient, and be willing to try different approaches to make things happen.

This experience taught me something I'll carry for life, everyone is capable of achieving anything with practice and resilience. As our world moves increasingly fast, staying updated with new technologies and tools is essential.

I'm now confident that my people-first approach, combined with data analytics skills, is a powerful combination for today's workplace.

My Recommendation

It was a wonderful experience, and I'm grateful to have been part of Cohort 6. I highly recommend The Curious Academy to anyone wanting to improve their skills or learn something completely new. Matt, Louise, and the entire team are amazing supporters who truly care about your success.

The best discoveries come from stepping outside your comfort zone, and for me, that step led to a whole new world of possibilities.