When BSIS+DS student Colin Bertrand steps onto the field with the Marching Illini, he isn't just performing; he's continuing a passion he's nurtured since childhood. He first encountered the Marching Illini as a young fan attending games, and the experience stuck with him. By the time he joined his high school drumline, his love for it had only grown.
"I had some friends involved in the Illini Drumline and really wanted to continue my passion," he said.
Since joining the Marching Illini and Men's Hoops Band, Bertrand has performed at football and basketball games, played with the band at high school competitions across Illinois, and traveled with the football team to the ReliaQuest Bowl and Citrus Bowl in Florida—two moments he describes as unforgettable. Although Bertrand will have graduated before the Marching Illini’s performance in the 100th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade next November, he is especially excited for another major event on the horizon: traveling with the team to Ireland in March 2026.
As a section leader, he guides other members and writes music for the rest of the drumline to play throughout the season. Outside of the Marching Illini, Bertrand keeps the beat going as a drumset player for the Illini men's basketball games.
While music drives one side of his college experience, Bertrand is equally passionate about data. After realizing in high school how much he enjoyed math and logic, he struggled to find a major that involved those areas. That was when he discovered the iSchool's IS+DS program and its broad range of topics.
The iSchool quickly felt like the right choice for his academic home. He connected with students early on and appreciated the School's supportive environment, its responsiveness to trends in the field (especially around AI), and its growing enrollment.
As Bertrand continued his academic journey, he became interested in machine learning and enjoyed taking skills he learned in class and applying them to his own personal projects.
"Some of my favorite classes that have taught me the most have been IS 327 [Concepts of Machine Learning], IS 407 [Introduction to Data Science], and CS 307 [Modeling and Learning in Data Science],” shared Bertrand. He also credits Lecturer Elizabeth Wickes' IS 205 [Programming for Information Problems] and 305 [Programming for Information Problems II] courses with building his coding skills.
Looking ahead, Bertrand plans to get a job in data science, with a future goal of earning a master's degree in data science or project management. His recent internship as a generative AI architect at Tata Consultancy Services introduced him to AI engineering roles.
"I would love to apply machine learning and AI to my future career, while still being able to utilize my data science skills and manage and explore datasets."