We are thrilled to officially welcome the inaugural class of 2020 into the Maven Analytics Hall of Fame!

First, thanks to everyone who tooks the time to nominate someone. We ended up with nearly 50 nominations, all very worthy candidates.

The task of narrowing down such a qualified list to just 5 final inductees was not easy. There was much debate, and unfortunately there are some truly fantastic people who are not on this list.

The entire group of nominees should feel proud. You represent an amazing community of people we are impressed by and grateful for.

Before introducing this year's inductees, let's quickly recap the qualities that earned these individuals their spots.

These standouts represent the characteristics that we most value in our students and in the broader data community.

1) Maven Hall of Famers are committed to lifelong learning.

2) They actively participate in the Maven community and broader data community.

3) They consistently support and encourage others in the Maven community.

4) They bring a positive energy to their learning and their work.

In short, these are the people that make being a part of Maven such an enjoyable experience for instructors and the entire student community.

As a thank you for everything these folks do for Maven and the data community, they are being honored today, will receive freshly minted Hall of Fame badges, and have also been given free lifetime access to all current and future Maven courses.

Now, let's introduce the Hall of Fame Class of 2020!

Jihwan Kim

Jihwan is the ultimate data explorer. He is the only person who has who has participated in every single Data Playground challenge. He even won one of them! Jihwan is also constantly digging into different data sets that he has found on his own to practice his skills, and publishing his visualizations for the data community to learn from. If you don't follow him already, you should. You will be inspired and learn a lot. We are proud to induct Jihwan into the Hall of Fame.

Congratulations Jihwan!

Stacey Thienel

Stacey was the very first person to take Enrique's MO-201 prep course and complete the Excel Expert exam, with an impressive score of 945/1000! She made the most of a tough year in 2020, learning new skills in data at a ferocious pace. Last year, Stacey completed courses on Excel, Power BI, Tableau, SQL, MS Access, Quickbooks, Statistics, and Finance. It seemed like almost every day she was sharing her learning experience and inspiring others along the way. It is truly impressive how much she has been able to accomplish. We are proud to induct Stacey into the Hall of Fame.

Congratulations Stacey!

Federico Pastor

Federico is someone who embodies dedication to lifelong learning, adaptability, and innovation. Over the course of 2020, a tumultuous year for many people, Federico quickly adapted to change and doubled down on himself by learning new skills. He dove headfirst into Excel, Power BI, Tableau, and SQL to grow and expand his knowledge and skillset. Federico is someone that not only just learns new skills, he also actively shares his learning experience with the larger data community. He is one of the most vocal contributors in Maven's data community, constantly encouraging others who are sharing their work, and sharing his own. It's truly inspiring and impressive to see how much Federico has accomplished this year and how enthusiastically he builds all of us up in the community. We are proud to induct Federico into the Hall of Fame.

Congratulations Federico!

Ahmad Chamy

Ahmad has an inspiring story about his journey in data. Working in a 3 month entry level temporary role, he proactively sought out more training to boost his skills. He found Chris' courses, and soon after, was offered an extension with a promotion! After that, Ahmad dedicated himself to perfecting his Power BI skills. He documented his journey and shared dashboards regularly on LinkedIn for others to learn from. This led to doubling his LinkedIn followers, landing multiple paying clients for his analytics side hustle, and being proactively sought out for his dream job as a BI Analyst. Now, he's even conducting Power BI trainings of his own. Ahmad is a great example of what can happen when you commit yourself to learning and put yourself out there. We are proud to induct Ahmad into the Hall of Fame.

Congratulations Ahmad!

Frank Alaniz

Last, but certainly not least, is someone most of you know already. Frank has probably helped you out or cheered you on. As much as anyone, Frank embodies all of the qualities we look for in a Hall of Famer. He has been one of Maven's greatest community builders all along. Frank has committed himself to lifelong learning, and consistently shares his journey to help others. His voice is one of positivity, encouragement, and kindness. He so well embodied the characteristics of a community builder that in addition to earning a place in the Hall of Fame, he earned himself a full-time role on the Maven team. We needed his energy in-house, and are so happy to have him on the team. We are proud to induct Frank into the Hall of Fame.

Congratulations Frank!

Everyone on the Maven team is extremely proud of this first inaugural Hall of Fame class. We could not imagine a more well-deserving group.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to nominate someone. We look forward to continuing this new tradition each year.

Until then, happy learning!