Student Perspective, Experiential Learning: Michael Rziha, MSBA ’22

Experiential learning plays a pivotal role in our MSBA program student experience. Students have the opportunity to work with organizations to solve real-world problems. Learn more about Michael’s capstone experience.

Q: Who was your capstone partner and what was your goal?

For my MSBA capstone project, our team was paired with the South Bend Community School Corporation to predict upper-level math classes’ success. My group was tasked with cleaning and analyzing class, standardized tests, and demographic data to determine which variables could help predict whether a student would be able to pass Calculus or Advanced Statistics classes during high school. We focused specifically on middle school classes, scores, and student information to help the South Bend school system classify indicators that could help predict future success in upper-level math classes. 

Q: How did your classwork prepare you for this project?

This project was truly a culmination of the material from all my other classes throughout the MSBA program. I combined skills, techniques, and models learned throughout the year in my classes to help finish this project successfully. The capstone class perfectly wraps up one’s time in the MSBA, brings to the forefront the statistics, data cleaning, modeling, and teamwork learned throughout the year and provides a springboard to future success beyond the program. 

Q: How did your capstone project prepare you for your upcoming job?

The capstone project prepared me for my career after the program by providing an opportunity to showcase and practice the skills learned in the MSBA program, get a chance to work within a team, and gain real-world experience. This experience helps provide a real-world example for interviews with prospective employers about applying analytics knowledge to an actual problem within the community. The capstone project also provides confidence in the skills and knowledge gained in the MSBA program. When a future interviewer asks me to give an example of how I used my skills to solve a problem and help the community, I will have this tremendous experience to share and actual skills to present for use in my future career.