Lauren Agrigento, a senior economics major from Homewood, Ill.; Shelby Katz, a senior
information systems and decision sciences major from Kenner, La. and Claire Masson,
a master of accountancy student from Covington, La. make up the LSU team known as
Opiate Associates. Joni Shreve, senior instructor in the Stephenson Department of
Entrepreneurship & Information Systems, serves as the team’s advisor.
The students analyzed data from the 2016 National Study for Drug Use and Health to
assess the demographic, socioeconomic, psychological and behavioral factors associated
with the misuse of prescription opioids. The resulting paper earned the team a spot
at the SAS Global Forum Student Symposium and a $3,000 travel stipend. Teams will
be judged during their 20-minute oral presentations. The top three teams will be named
during the conference.
“These students are using data to tackle a timely issue,” said Shreve. “I am very
proud of their work. Being asked to present at the SAS Global Forum is a tremendous
honor given to just eight teams. I know the experience will lead to professional and
personal growth. I can’t wait to see how they meet this challenge.”
The LSU team will compete against groups from California State University, Long Beach;
George Brown College; Grand Valley State University; Kennesaw State University; Oklahoma
State University and University of North Carolina Wilmington,
About SAS
SAS is the leader in analytics. Through innovative software and services, SAS empowers
and inspires customers around the world to transform data into intelligence. SAS gives
you THE POWER TO KNOW®. SAS began at North Carolina State University as a project
to analyze agricultural research. Demand for such software capabilities grew and SAS
was founded in 1976 to help customers in a variety of industries – from pharmaceutical
companies and banks to academic and governmental entities.
About the E. J. Ourso College of Business
Since its establishment in 1928, the E. J. Ourso College of Business has continuously
improved and expanded its offerings for students and alumni. Additionally, the college
has made it a priority to provide its faculty with the resources it needs to further
research in every aspect of the business world and to produce industry leaders for
a global work environment. For more news and information about the E. J. Ourso College,
visit lsu.edu/business.
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