Kaylee Osterberger (’22 MA ’24) is pursuing a Master of Science in Applied Analytics degree at Loras College, and flexibility, cohort diversity, and range of experiences are preparing her for success.
Kaylee earned her bachelor’s degree from Loras in accounting and business administration with a minor in analytics. And now, ss she progresses toward her master’s degree, Kaylee finds tremendous value in the program’s coursework. Covering a wide array of topics, she feels more well-rounded and feels she is being prepared for a broad spectrum of different tasks or jobs that may arise.
The cohort’s diversity has proven valuable as she is learning alongside other students in various fields that benefit from analytics.
“It is helpful to see how other people use the program in their jobs,” she said. “The software programs we use in classes are used in various fields now. Analytics is such a big field, and I can see many more options out there than I originally thought,” she shared.
An additional benefit of the graduate program is continuing to compete as a student-athlete. Kaylee ran on the cross country and the track and field teams as an undergraduate. By the time she completed her undergraduate degree, she still had one more year of eligibility.
“I knew I wanted to continue running and use up my eligibility. Rather than taking undergraduate classes, I wanted to find something that would help me continue to learn and stand out in a pool of applicants as I move forward with a career. Loras’ applied analytics program made sense while still being able to compete,” she explained. “The flexibility only made it easier to manage. I initially thought I would complete the program in one year while running cross country and track. It was all a bit much. Switching to the two-year program enabled me to spread things out more and make it manageable.”
While she doesn’t have a firm vision of where she wants her applied analytics degree to take her, Kaylee feels good about how the program prepares her for success.
“Wherever I work, I want them to trust me to lead and develop projects that benefit the company. The program gives a broad range of experiences, and I see so many aspects that will apply to a job in the future,” she shared.
Loras is now accepting applications for this degree and many other graduate and professional development programs for spring ’24. Apply for free.
