Yuxuan Mei
MS in Business Analytics Capital One“The program definitely exceeded my expectations. I not only learned really useful knowledge, but also received a lot of help in terms of career and leadership development.”
Yuxuan came to the United States from China to study economics and finance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He loved the culture, the food, and how friendly people were. He found that same vibe at Questrom in Boston.
With a passion for using data to convey business insights and make informed decisions, Yuxuan enrolled in the MS in Business Analytics. “The program definitely exceeded my expectations,” he says. “I not only learned really useful knowledge but also received a lot of help in terms of career and leadership development.”
Along with internships at Ford Motor Company and Global AI, a highlight of Yuxuan’s Questrom journey was the Humana Mays Healthcare Competition. “We had just started our first machine learning class and had limited knowledge, but our professor encouraged us to join the competition to practice and learn.” To his surprise, Yuxuan’s team placed third among more than 250 teams and 900 candidates.
During the two-month, three-round competition, Yuxuan’s team used a machine learning approach to identify people reluctant to get a COVID-19 vaccination. The group sought to uncover the reasons for the hesitancy and provide business recommendations to improve vaccination rates. “We encountered numerous challenges and failures, but we never stopped trying,” he says. “We didn’t just win third place in the competition, we also built very close personal friendships, and realized what we could achieve and what problems we could solve with our combined knowledge and efforts.”
Since graduating, Yuxuan has joined the team at Capital One as senior data analyst. The MSBA program definitely helped him gain the professional knowledge and skills he needed for the role, including Python, SQL, statistics, and most importantly, a business mindset.
His advice for incoming international students in the business analytics program: “Don't be shy! If you want to ask a question, raise your hand. If you want to make a comment, say it. Step out of your comfort zone, pick up some ownership and leadership, and you will grow very quickly.”