If you are a current senior or recent college graduate wondering if the MSBA Program is right for you or how it can help enhance your undergraduate degree, keep reading!Edward Orzechowski, MSBA '18, has accepted a job as a a Consultant with ASI Government, a management consulting firm that primarily works with federal government programs and specializes with acquisitions and program management. Below, Eddie shares his experiences in the program, and how it helped him to find his career:
Q: Why did you choose the MSBA Program?
A year ago, I would have told you it was because I wanted to diversify my experience and give me the business skills to further my career in food science. While this statement is still true, today I think I joined because I knew I could do more in my career and the MSBA program has certainly jump-started the foundation of my career. The skills I have gained over the past (almost) year will carry all the way through my professional life and (hopefully) one day in the C-suite.
Also, I have to give my close friend and alumnus, Luke Bader, a shout out for introducing, selling and supporting me with the program. I definitely felt welcomed quickly into the Cardinal family.
Q: What company will you be working for, and what will your title be?
I will be a Consultant with ASI Government, a management consulting firm that primarily works with federal government programs and specializes with acquisitions and program management. The project I am being hired onto is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance Program to help solve and manage issues with their re-insurance and risk-rating programs.
Q: How did you get interested in this type of work?
I had no idea what consulting was or how broad of a term it was until joining the program. It was fairly apparent to me that consulting was going to be the career path for me early in the program because of the problem solving it requires. Coming from a STEM background, consulting was where I felt at home, rather than going into other career paths the program can lead to such as marketing, finance, accounting or data analytics. I think it is fascinating to go into a business, assess the situation, do the brainstorming, research, and then come up with insights that drive recommendations to clients that lead to results for the business.
Q: How did the Catholic U MSBA program help prepare you for this career path?
The range of classes offered and short length of the program form a sort of pressure cooker of business learning. We were exposed to many facets of business in an intense yet manageable environment that allowed us to absorb information and almost immediately apply it to a practical problem.
One of the many differentiators in the program is the integration of ethics. It was apparent from day one, that we would be taught how to conduct ourselves in business to promote putting people over profit. We’ve been taught that the best business decision may not be the one that maximizes profit but rather the one that maximizes what is best for all stakeholders.
Q: What from the program stands out specifically that you think helped prepare you for a career in this field?
For consulting, it’s definitely the Field Team Study. There isn’t another program that lets you take the limited tools you’ve acquired so quickly and apply them to real work business problems. In sports terms, it lets you scrimmage a consulting contract in preparation for the prime time match in the real world.
Q: Can you recall a favorite memory from the program?
Organizing the New York City Trip. Getting my peers around a new city for 5 days was honestly a challenge but incredibly rewarding. Spending that many days in the city allowed us to not only experience jobs at many different companies, but also what the wide range of office cultures are like.
