Hannah Mortazavi, a December 2022 graduate of the Purdue School of Business with an online Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) degree, knows what she wants.
“I've been an analyst for about seven years, ranging from marketing analytics to advertising,” she says. “My ultimate goal is to be a data scientist. I'm trying to transfer my analytical skills to the next level.”
Mortazavi completed her BS in Consumer Science from Purdue in 2015, and currently works part-time as a data analyst with The Office of Experience, a design and digital innovation agency. Prior to that, she worked as an operations specialist with GumGum and a CRM analyst with Guess.
As she progressed in her career, Mortazavi was increasingly drawn to data science and began considering master’s programs. “I currently reside in Los Angeles, so I wanted to complete an online degree without having to relocate,” she says. “I wanted to stay in California and attend school while continuing as a professional.”
"I now have opportunities that I’m positive I wouldn't have had before completing the MSBA program."
Mortazavi says returning to her alma mater for her master’s degree was an easy decision. “I loved my undergraduate experience at Purdue, but I didn't know about the online MSBA. As soon as I saw that the program was available, it was kind of a no-brainer. I knew I would be challenged, but I also knew I’d have the resources I needed to succeed.”
Working on the West Coast and balancing her time between school and her professional life was a challenge, but one Mortazavi met head-on. “The MSBA program required me to set aside time to meet with other students for team projects and be able to complete assignments, quizzes, and tests,” she says. “I had to be diligent about knowing what I had ahead of me, so that was a big piece of balancing everything.”
Even with classmates spread across the globe, Mortazavi found the same sense of engagement in her online experience as she found during her time as an undergraduate. “I definitely felt a strong sense of community and camaraderie,” she says. “My favorite thing about working on teams was that we were all in different places, so I didn't feel like the odd one out. My closest friend coming out of the program lives in Saudi Arabia, and I also have a friend who is a farmer in Nebraska.”
With data science at the forefront of her studies, it’s no surprise that one of Mortazavi’s favorite courses was data mining, which introduced her to SAS, a leading analytics platform. “I came into the course without any knowledge of SAS, but by the time we took the final exam I felt like an advanced user,” she says. “It made me feel more confident in my skills.”
She also took several courses that were immediately applicable to her job. “One of the first times I was able to do that was when I took a course on big data cloud computing, which was mostly about the Google Cloud platform and a data visualization platform called Data Studio,” Mortazavi says. “I quickly realized I could leverage these tools for an upcoming report, as well as share it with our wider analytics team.”
Today, Mortazavi is looking forward to a new career as a data scientist and is grateful to Purdue for the role it has played in her life. “I now have opportunities that I’m positive I wouldn't have had before completing the MSBA program,” she says. “I accomplished so much and feel like I have transitioned into a more confident mindset because of it.”