The Power of Data Unlocks Professional and Personal Growth

Published July 9, 2026 | Request Information

Growing up in a Nigerian immigrant household, Abigail Dina learned that success is rarely achieved alone.

Community is key, as she learned through the traditions of her family’s Yoruba ethnicity. In her culture, people share resources, support one another’s ambitions, and invest in future generations. Those values have shaped Dina’s journey from a young girl fascinated by computers to an IT auditor at Boeing.

“Most of what my parents have been able to achieve has been through the communities they built,” said Dina, a 2026 graduate of Johns Hopkins University’s MS in Data Analytics and Policy program. “Now that I’m out in the world, I’m realizing that doesn’t happen everywhere.”

Raised in Prince George’s County, Maryland, Dina was introduced to technology through her father, who worked in IT. Watching him take computers apart sparked an early curiosity that eventually led her to study computer science at Morgan State University.

There, she also discovered a passion for creating opportunities for others. After founding the Women in Computer Science club, she helped launch a coding camp for girls in grades 5 through 12, an experience that introduced her to the power of data long before she formally studied analytics.

“A lot of our funding came through the metrics we were able to share about the camp,” she said. “I was leaning on those skills before I even knew how much data analytics could move things forward.”

After two internships at Boeing, Dina joined the company full-time through its Information Digital Technology & Security Career Foundation Program in St. Louis, rotating through several technology and business functions ranging from system design and integration to product management, executive support, and data governance. The experience gave her a broad view of how organizations use information to make decisions and solve problems.

Seeking to deepen those skills, and with financial support from Boeing, she enrolled at JHU while working full time.

Balancing work and school was challenging, and as one of the younger students in her cohort, she sometimes questioned whether she belonged.

“At first, I thought maybe I was too early to be in the room,” she said. “Many of my classmates were on second careers and brought perspectives I didn’t have.”

Over time, those differences became one of the program’s greatest strengths.

“I realized that while they were developing their thinking, I was developing mine,” she said. “That mix of experiences was valuable for everybody.”

Her coursework allowed her to combine her technical skills with her longstanding interest in public policy and community development. For her capstone project, she analyzed socioeconomic factors related to juvenile crime in Baltimore, examining variables such as poverty rates, educational attainment, and violent crime patterns.

By mapping neighborhood-level data, she identified trends that could help guide targeted interventions.

“This degree sharpened how I think about evidence-based decision-making,” she said. “It taught me how to connect data to action and communicate insights in a way that helps people understand what needs to happen next.”

Today, Dina continues her work at Boeing while mentoring students through the company’s HBCU engagement initiatives. She also remains interested in the intersection of technology, policy, and community development, areas she hopes to continue exploring throughout her career.

“I want to be a data-driven leader,” she said. “I want to be able to show what the information is telling us so we can make informed decisions that create meaningful change.”

Some of the work is already taking place close to home.

Her father operates a business that produces a healthier version of traditional plantain flour, adapting a staple food to fit modern lifestyles and nutritional needs. While the company has built a strong foundation, Dina was excited to apply the skills she developed at Boeing and Johns Hopkins to help it grow.

Today, she is helping modernize the business through data-driven strategies, from analyzing pricing trends and customer behavior to exploring digital marketing and social media engagement.

It is an opportunity to combine her technical expertise, entrepreneurial interests, and commitment to family in a single mission.

“They created a solution, but they didn’t have the data and technology to inform their decisions yet,” she said.

For Dina, the work represents more than business growth. It is a continuation of the values she learned from her culture’s traditions – using data, innovation, and community to create opportunities for others.

“My parents built their success through community,” she said. “Now I’m using what I’ve learned to help build the next chapter.”