This year, two Questrom students, Nari Malkhasyan (’20) and Pat DeMarle (’20), were named to the annual Poets & Quants Best & Brightest MBA List, a compilation of the most accomplished MBA students from a pool of global nominees. While they might not be walking in a traditional graduation ceremony this May, they both have big things planned once they receive their degrees, and the Questrom community is remarkably proud of these two leaders.

Hailing from Yerevan, Armenia, Nari Malkhasyan came to Questrom after earning her BS and her MS in Chemical Engineering from UMass Lowell and Northeastern, respectively, and working as a Senior R&D Engineer in Cambridge. After a successful internship with Amazon in Seattle, Nari will be returning to Amazon to join their Retail Leadership Development Program post-graduation. In roles like Graduate Student Council President, MBA Peer and Undergraduate Mentor, and Marketing Learning Community Student Lead, Nari has gone above and beyond during her time at Questrom. “She is the soul of the Class of 2020. From the time she came to campus, she has had an impact on students, faculty, and the spirit of her class and the class behind her. If you wonder who is helping the first years get acclimated, find an internship, and not totally stress out, it is Nari. If you wonder who is intellectually pushing faculty because of her curiosity or push fellow students to think deeper, it is Nari. I have never seen one student impact the entire community- students, faculty, and the program, as much as Nari has,” Senior Lecturer Pat Hambrick says of Nari.

Pat DeMarle, like Nari, got a degree in the Engineering field—a BS in Materials Science and Engineering from Cornell. Before coming to Questrom, Pat worked as a Sales, Inventory, and Operations Planning Manager at Brooks Automation. During his time at Questrom, he was the President of the Graduate Entrepreneurship and Innovation Club, which aims to create a two-way channel between the entrepreneurship ecosystem and BU graduate students. This year alone, they’ve launched various programming and “startup consulting office hours” to make as many connections as possible between student entrepreneurs, professors, researchers, and practitioners. After Questrom, Pat will continue to build the startup, Gears Analytics, which he launched in the summer of 2018. “Pat is the perfect MBA student. He is engaged in every aspect of the MBA student experience – he performs extremely well in courses (3.93 cumulative GPA), attends all admissions events, and participates in community activities, including a leadership role in the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Club and a member of the VCIC case competition team. Pat is genuinely excited about everything business related and is an outstanding TA. As with everything, Pat takes this role seriously and goes above-and-beyond the call of duty, helping students master the material. Pat cares about learning, and he cares about the Questrom community,” says Assistant Professor Pnina Feldman.

Get to know more about Nari and Pat by reading their full profiles on Poets & Quants.

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