Peter Ohaver, a member of the Krannert School of Management’s Online MS in Business Analytics program’s first graduating cohort in 2021, serves as a captain and officer in charge of enterprise services in the United States Air Force.
“I’ve always been interested in pursuing a master’s degree to further my education and continue learning about the world,” he says. “Nearly half of my extended family has attended Purdue and I am very interested in analytics, so when I saw that Krannert’s programs were among the best in the country, I knew that my perception wasn’t colored by my biases. The program really is top-notch.”
The financial benefits and flexibility of the program also played a factor.
"It was a perfect match for my interests, had high prestige in national rankings, and came at a very affordable investment,” he says. “Being in the Air Force, I was deployed to the Middle East when I started my degree, relocated to my home base in Germany, and moved to the St. Louis area all within the first five months of my studies. The flexibility of the program worked seamlessly with these transitions across multiple time zones.”
Ohaver particularly enjoyed the coursework in data analytics, including Python, R and Tableau programming, as well as more traditional courses in human resources, finance, and related management fields. “We had a good balance between different mathematical and business classes, which allowed us to see multiple sides of an issue,” he says.
Although the program is online, Ohaver says there are multiple opportunities for teamwork. “We broke into peer groups to work on projects, which let us interact with people from a lot of different backgrounds,” he says. “I still maintain some of those relationships.”
He credits the program’s exceptional faculty for preparing him for continued success, particularly Clinical Assistant Professor of Management Matthew Lanham, who teaches the program’s industry practicum course.
“All the faculty were extremely high quality. They wanted us to do well,” Ohaver says. “I learned tools to explore interests I never knew how to explore before and ways that I could continue exploring those interests professionally.
I feel like it has redefined my career goals and set me up to succeed and demonstrate my abilities."