Real Humans of the Drexel LeBow Class of 2019
Yevgeniy (Eugene) Olkhov, LeBow MS Class of 2019
Age: 26
Hometown: Philadelphia
Undergraduate Institution and Major: My undergraduate institution was Arcadia University. My major was Psychology with a minor in Business Administration.
Yevgeniy Olkhov, Class of 2019
Pre-MS Work Experience: I worked as a Research Specialist at the Pennsylvania Lab for Experimental Evolutionary Psychology (University of Pennsylvania) and as a Research Assistant at the Fox School of Business (Temple University).
Why business school? Why now? Towards the end of my undergraduate career, and after graduating, I was tailoring my experience for a Ph.D. program. However, the more I worked in research, the more I realized that I wanted to go into industry instead of academia. While I have already developed skills in dealing with and analyzing data in my undergrad and while working, I knew I needed to learn more about the business half of “Business Analytics,” and the additional technical skills that were needed to have an immediate impact on business decisions.
Why LeBow? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend? I have had many friends attend Drexel for their bachelor’s degrees, and many are now successful because of the experience and connections they have developed from the internship or co-op program. I really liked that Drexel puts such an emphasis on learning by practice, which was a very prominent factor in my decision.
What do you think is your most valuable or differentiating contribution to the Class of 2019? I think my most valuable contribution is working on a consulting project for a financial institution via LeBow’s Business Analytics Solutions Center. I was able to effectively help clients with a real-world business problem and show them the capability of students in my program.
Fun fact that didn’t get included on your application? I am passionate about photography.
Post-MS career interests? My current interest is in data science and predictive analytics. Text mining and natural language processing is also a field I am interested in if the opportunity arises.
Advice to Prospective MBA Applicants
One thing you would absolutely do again as part of your application process? Talk about a personal project that I was working on and visit LeBow to get to know faculty.
One thing you would change or do differently? In general, my advice to students would be to find out everything about the program before applying.
Part you would have skipped if you could—and what helped you get through it? I wish I could skip the standardized testing (i.e. GRE). Just the thought that it was necessary helped me get through it.
Greatest highlight so far at LeBow? My greatest highlight so far at LeBow was working on a consulting project for a financial institution via LeBow’s Business Analytics Solutions Center. I was able to work with a team on a real project for a real a company, and then present the results to the company. This was definitely a challenging project, but it helped me use my skills to gain experience in a real-world setting, which is one of the biggest reasons I chose LeBow.
One thing about LeBow that you didn’t expect before arriving? I did not expect the degree to which professors are invested in your success. Of course, I assumed they would be, but the professors I have had so far go above and beyond to help students.
Thing you are most anxious about in your first year? Finding a good fitting internship for the summer.
Thing you are most excited about in your first year? While finding a good fitting internship is what I am most anxious about, it is also what I am most excited about too.
About the Author
Matthew Korman
Matthew Korman is a writer on MetroMBA. Since graduating from Rowan University with a degree in journalism and political science, Matthew has worked as a music industry writer and promoter, a data analyst, and with numerous academic institutions. His works have appeared in publications such as NPR and Sports Illustrated.
