Business Matters

After completing a  bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire in electrical engineering, Alvin Lagu turned to a lifelong goal of completing a master’s degree with Oregon State University’s specialized Master of Science in Business.

The Class of 2022 graduate earned his MSB in Marketing Insights and Analytics, and shared insights on his graduate studies at OSU.

What made you want to earn your graduate degree?

It’s been my personal goal to be able to go to graduate school. During my senior year of undergraduate studies, I discovered the MSB program at Oregon State University. After doing more research on what the program has to offer, I saw that being part of the MSB program will definitely help me to go towards the career path that I want to pursue. The combination of data analytics and marketing in the curriculum is what sold me to be part of the College of Business at OSU.

How will your graduate degree help you in the workplace?

It will help in a lot of aspects honestly. The biggest part is for me to get used to working on important projects that will have a crucial impact on the business strategies. I am now more confident in my skills in working with and analyzing data, and how to interpret piles of unused data and make it into useful information. Many companies are struggling to have people who can be a data interpreter, and I feel like it’s an opportunity for me to have the skills to support companies who are currently struggling with that.

What is one thing that surprised you about your experience in the College of Business graduate program?

I really love the experience that I get in the classroom. The number of students in the class is usually less than 20 people, and it makes the interaction between the instructor/professor and the students a whole lot more special. The discussions in the class are more productive, and I feel like I get more attention from the professor, especially in terms of absorbing the material during lectures. Also, it makes connecting with your peers a lot more personal. I think I always ended up remembering the name of everyone in the class at the end of each term. Also, I always made sure to add them on LinkedIn.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to future students thinking about earning your MSB?

The program in itself is a really good program. But one piece of advice that I would give is to always be open to learn from everyone regardless of age, education, experience, nationality, et cetera. You might be pleasantly surprised. On top of that, getting to know the people in your class is also a good thing because one day they may be part of your network, too.

What is the most valuable takeaway from your graduate education?

I think the most valuable takeaway from my graduate education is to realize that the journey is more important than the destination. During my time in the program, I connected with really smart and great people who helped and pushed me to be a better version of myself everyday. Sure, my old self would probably think I could do it alone, but being exposed and experiencing the grad school environment completely changed my perspective. I am proud that I am close to finishing the program – one more week! – but the journey itself is what makes my graduate education special.