Student Perspective: Alison Ablan, MSBA ’20
Immediately applicable lessons for real-world scenarios.
Being a candidate in the Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program at the University of Notre Dame Chicago campus is one of my proudest accomplishments. The coursework has proven to be rigorous and the deadlines demanding in the program, but the cohort structure emphasizes the importance of successful teamwork. It is difficult to explain how one can become so close to others in such a short period of time; you are immersed in each other’s lives and are developing knowledge in a complicated field of expertise. Alongside my peers, I have been fortunate to learn from outstanding professors, and I feel honored to say that I am a candidate in the MSBA program.
Currently, I am employed as the project manager and regional sales manager for Superior Air-Ground Ambulance. We service 95 percent of the Chicagoland hospitals and provide various facets of patient movement. During my preview day at Notre Dame, I knew its MSBA program would be a perfect fit to help me accelerate my career. I started applying the skills and techniques taught in class immediately.
The Tableau presentations I created have assisted in projecting and analyzing medical transportation usage throughout health systems to better serve communities. I was also able to immediately apply what I learned in the Integrated Analytics Practice course to my job, while also working with my professors to learn how to more effectively communicate the materials I was presenting.
Analytics is an invaluable and emerging field, and we are just experiencing its inception. At the beginning of the program, a professor advised our cohort to embrace the greatness of our inner geek, and that is exactly what we have done every day I’ve been in the program. The MSBA curriculum provides a foundation for learning the language to interpret and provide direction for both data scientist and executive communications through the value of analytics. Living up to the expectations that come with being a Notre Dame graduate, I hope to apply this knowledge as a leader who can enrich and improve upon our communities.