To say that BSIS+DS student Affan Leebe keeps busy outside of the classroom is an understatement. A first-generation student from Chicago, Leebe has held three internships, led recruitment for the iSchool's professional fraternity, won a FactSet Client Case Competition, and mentored dozens of students. On top of that, he travelled to New York City during the spring 2025 semester to serve as emcee for the ATLAS Fellows Graduation Gala at the Museum of Modern Art.
As someone whose interests include DJing and podcasting, a live performance as an emcee isn't a huge step out of his comfort zone. However, hosting the organization's inaugural gala—in front of over three hundred senior finance executives, including some of the most powerful names on Wall Street—was a unique experience even for Leebe.
"ATLAS Fellows is an organization that helps underrepresented students break into the finance industry through internships and partnerships,” said Leebe, a 2023 ATLAS Fellow. “Hosting the event was an incredible experience and helped me grow my confidence and public speaking skills in a professional setting."
Now a junior in the iSchool, Leebe has interned at Balyasny Asset Management and Loop Capital Markets. This summer, he is working as a technology consultant intern at PwC, where his responsibilities include improving the accuracy of a client's AI-chatbot response and building Power BI and Alteryx dashboards. Leebe will undoubtedly bring some of the insights he has gained from his internship experiences to the professional development sessions he leads as director of recruitment for Psi Eta Mu, a fraternity for students interested in information science and data science. In addition to Psi Eta Mu, Leebe is a member of the student organizations EntreCORPS and Product Space UIUC.
Leebe is particularly interested in business/data analytics, consulting, and product management, because these areas "allow you to explore how data can tell stories and help people make key critical decisions that are data driven."
"I chose the BSIS+DS degree because it perfectly blends my passion for being both on the human side while also being technical. I love to understand how data is digested, explain complex topics to a non-technical audience, and extract actionable insights through an interdisciplinary approach," he said.
In the future, Leebe would like to work in a role where he can leverage his technical expertise and problem-solving capabilities—ideally at the intersection of technology and consulting.