Ricky Oundo MBA SPOTLIGHT Ricky Oundo has had a thriving academic career, starting in New York, where he studied within the CUNY school system, completing a two-year degree in lab technician sciences. After moving to Pennsylvania and completing his bachelor’s in the same major at Alvernia University, Ricky switched course, joining the military as a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear, known as CBRN, specialist. This military experience would lead Ricky to KU, his military benefits providing him the opportunity to pursue a master’s in a practical and necessary field: decision making and data analytics. Independent Study During his time at KU, Ricky has been able to branch out and expand upon his skillsets by working with his professors. “I didn’t start to love what I was doing until I started working with Dr. Wang.” Dr. Wang suggested that Ricky take up various coding programs, such as Python and SAS, both tools used for data visualization, data manipulation, and statistical modeling. By coding, Ricky is able to combine the lab skills he learned in his bachelor’s with the data visualization he is currently studying in his master’s. While the independent study is still ongoing, Ricky hopes to use the end product post-grad to find a job with this unique combination of skills. Ricky has been working on a capstone to close out his MBA, a project he has considered one of his most impactful experiences at KU. MBA Capstone Ricky and his team have acted as a consultant company consultants for a business in the real-world, providing solutions through research and presenting proposals of their findings. Through this process, Ricky has accommodated the business owner by shifting his own perspective to present ideal strategies and tailoring each new finding to the varying circumstances of the business owner’s problems. While Ricky came from a logistics and numbers angle, the project allowed him to network and form crucial connections with others. His group allowed the capstone to encapsulate the business experience of working in a team for a successful final product. 22
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