Program:

Master of Science in Business Analytics

Undergraduate University and Major: Brigham Young University – Idaho: Applied Mathematics

Graduating Class: Class of 2020

About Chris: I grew up in rural Idaho just outside of Yellowstone. I love being outdoors hiking, skiing, biking or relaxing in a hammock. After undergrad, I took a job at Walmart working in supply chain. During that time, I taught myself SQL and Tableau to be more efficient in my job and bring better insights to the team. This is where my interest in advanced analytics grew.

Proudest accomplishment:

My proudest accomplishment is my family. Starting a career as a newlywed was rough. Leaving work to pursue graduate studies after having a son was even more challenging. However, my family has been the most rewarding part of my life and they are my greatest motivation.

Why did you choose the MSBA Program?

There are three main reasons why I chose the MSBA at McCombs. First, I wanted to complete my graduate studies in under 2 years time. Second, it needed to be a highly reputable program for its curriculum and placement. Third, it was essential that the classes combined my mathematics education with my business experience, giving me the necessary tools and understanding to have an immediate impact in my career. UT’s MSBA Program checks all of these boxes.

What have you enjoyed so far this year and what do you look forward to for the future?

I have loved experiencing Austin and being part of the Longhorn family. It has been great to make friends and establish a diverse network with my peers. One of my favorite classes was Text Analytics where I was able to scrape online data, clean it up, and make machine learning models to find insights from raw user content. I look forward to continuing my education on the job working on data science challenges while representing the MSBA brand.

Program:

Master of Science in Business Analytics

Undergraduate University and Major: Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati – Bachelor of Technology in Biotechnology

Graduating Class: Class of 2020

About Apoorva: I love working on data to improve customer experience. I worked as a consultant for ~3 years at ZS Associates focusing on healthcare analytics. I love travelling, hiking and adventure sports. I love going on treks and the live music in Austin.

Proudest accomplishment:

My proudest accomplishment is getting an early promotion. In a team of 100 members where everyone got promoted in 2.5 years, I got promoted in 2 years. This motivated me, and helped me understand my importance in the team and that my contribution is very valuable.

Why did you choose the MSBA Program?

MS in Business analytics at UT Austin is known for its reputation in academic excellence, its commitment to research and teaching, and its location. The course curriculum is flexible and enables me to mold my career path. The career services team actively help students to be ready for professional jobs and give opportunities to students to interact with employers.

What are you most looking forward to this year?

I am looking forward to learning the different tools and trends in the data analytics space. I am also looking forward to making new friends and working on various projects with them.

Program:

Master of Science in Business Analytics

Undergraduate University and Major: College of Engineering, Anna University/Electrical Engineering

Graduating Class: Class of 2020

About Aadithya: I am an ambivert who sometimes defines fun being with friends. At other times it is just the interaction I have with my canvas and colors. I enjoy painting, sketching or any form of art work and I am ever ready to learn new styles. My connection with the brushes has been there for now close to 18 years and always, every single time I paint, there is something about colors that brings me so much peace and happiness. My biggest work has been a solo doodle for 10 hours straight on an office wall.

Proudest accomplishment:

My proudest moment was when I graduated from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad with a degree in Management studies. This was particularly very close to me for two reasons. One, is the clarity I had behind the efforts to get in there and learn. Second, most importantly, is that it was my father’s dream to study in there and I could see how incredibly proud he was of me on the graduation day. He didn’t have to say, I didn’t have to ask, I could feel it.

Why did you choose the MSBA Program?

I joined the Marketing team of one of the leading telecom firms in India. I was introduced to analytics for the first time when we were working on customer segmentation, product performance, etc. I could clearly see the connection between data analytics and business decisions made. I realized that knowing analytics would give me an edge in the future business world. So, I decided to pursue a master’s in business analytics.

What are you most looking forward to this year?

Most importantly, I am looking forward to build lasting relationships with peers from diverse backgrounds. Secondly, the vast knowledge gain on the subject of analytics along with the industry experience I would get from our capstone project. I have learned a lot in the short time I’ve been here. I am confident that I would be equipped with the tools necessary to tackle industry problems and looking forward to make impactful contribution.

Program:

Master of Science in Business Analytics

Undergraduate University and Major:

SRM University, India – Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering

Graduating Class

Class of 2020

About Namita:

I moved to Austin just before the program began and the first few weeks were such an amazing experience. This is the first time I have moved away from home and it happened to be all the way across the world!

I am also a food blogger and love to cook. I am a huge nature person and am currently ticking treks, trails, lakes and parks off my Austin to-see list!

Proudest accomplishment:

My biggest achievement is probably learning to communicate well with people. Over the last few years, I have been conscious of how and what I say when I speak to others. This has made a huge difference not just to how people perceive me, but has also helped me understand my way of speaking much better. Being a Toastmaster definitely weighed in on this process.

Why did you choose the MSBA Program?

“What begins here, changes the world.” And that’s exactly what I am here to do!

We live in a world where data is indispensable, now more than ever. Everyone produces data, but not everyone benefits from it. Working as a Data Engineer at Fidelity Investments opened my eyes to the extent of impact data can have on business. I realized early on in my career, that weaving stories from data to enable significant decision making is what I aspire to do in the long run. Choosing to pursue my Masters in Business Analytics was thus, a natural next step for me as I wanted to steer my career in a direction where data science drives change. I was drawn to the industry relevant course structure and accelerated nature of the MSBA program here at McCombs School of Business.

What are you most looking forward to this year?

Three months into the program, I have never hustled harder. Every course we’ve done here so far is a perfect blend of programming skills backed with quantitative intuition, with an overarching focus on business knowledge. I am excited to see what the future holds for me post this program. After all, good things happen to those who hustle.

Program:

Master of Science in Business Analytics

Student Name:

Sijo Valayakkad Manikandan

Graduating Class:

Class of 2020

Undergraduate University and Major:

Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India – Mechanical Engineering

About Sijo:

Before joining the program, I worked as an Analytics Consultant for Capgemini for almost 3 years improving products and business processes using advanced analytics and programming. I am a tennis player who has represented state and university teams at several national level competitions. I am also passionate about providing aid to underprivileged communities.

Proudest accomplishment:

I have always tried to go beyond expectations to assist my clients. In one of the client engagements, I was tasked to provide a solution to the reoccurring product delays that led to multiple contractual penalties for my client. Analyzing data from multiple sources and consulting subject matter experts, I built an interactive dashboard with actionable KPIs that helped the client avoid such scenarios. Recognizing the benefit of such an industry-agnostic solution, the client decided to implement it in all of their future projects. I am proud that I was able to not only solve the problems but also exceeded the expectations of my client.

Why did you choose the MSBA Program?

My time with Capgemini has helped me realize that many organizations are trying to gain insights from the huge amount of data they capture and that the field of analytics is growing at a quicker pace than ever before. Having worked on a variety of assignments in different domains of analytics – including automation, data analysis, visualization, and engineering – I felt that a graduate degree in analytics would help me widen my array of skill sets, to add more value to the organizations I work for. I was looking for an intense short term program that focuses equally on all three aspects of analytics: programming, statistics, and business. The highly application-oriented MSBA program at the prestigious McCombs School of Business was a perfect match for my aspirations and I am glad that I made the right choice.

What have you enjoyed so far this year and look forward to for the future?

The program pushes me, not only to learn, but also to apply what I have learned in the class. I am anxiously waiting for the industry events in the fall and spring semesters that would help me familiarize with the work and culture of several organizations, helping me prepare for the industry. I also look forward to the business capstone in the spring semester that would help me work with industry professionals to apply the skills learned in the program to a real-world problem.

Program:

Master of Science Bridge Program in Business Analytics

Student Name:

Hope Knopf

Graduating Class:

Class of 2019

Undergraduate Alma Mater:

About Hope:

I grew up in the St. Louis, Missouri area (Go Cards!) and went to the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. I’ve always loved math and statistics and I want to work in tech, which is why I’m in the MSBA program at UT! I worked at Boeing in St. Louis as a pricing analyst intern last summer and loved it. I like to run, do yoga, watch movies, and anything involving dogs.

Proudest Accomplishment:

Why did you choose the MSBA Program?

More on Texas MS Student Spotlight:

Texas MS #StudentSpotlight is a recurring feature showcasing the talent, background, and aspirations of the McCombs Master of Science Program students! Learn more about the Texas Master of Science in Business Analytics on our homepage.

Current Texas MS students interested in appearing in our student spotlight should contact their Program Coordinator regarding access to the Student Spotlight Survey.

Program:

Master of Science Program in Business Analytics

Student Name:

Jeffrey Fulkerson

Graduating Class:

Class of 2019

Undergraduate Alma Mater:

About Jeffrey:

I have a background in computer science and studio art, with an interest in developing data visualizations. I believe that as our information age progresses and our society becomes more complex, making statistical analysis understandable is essential to the public good. I am hoping to be able to help push data science methodology further into the public sphere so legislation is based solidly in well-sourced research.

Proudest Accomplishment:

Why did you choose the MSBA Program?

More on Texas MS Student Spotlight:

Texas MS #StudentSpotlight is a recurring feature showcasing the talent, background, and aspirations of the McCombs Master of Science Program students! Learn more about the Texas Master of Science in Business Analytics on our homepage.

Current Texas MS students interested in appearing in our student spotlight should contact their Program Coordinator regarding access to the Student Spotlight Survey.