After transferring to George Mason University and graduating from the Master’s in Management accelerated one-year program in 2020, Cooper Mrowka decided to take advantage of his collegiate baseball eligibility to further his education. “I started looking to sports jobs, maybe combining my sport management and business management degrees and people kept saying that the new thing is data analytics–knowing how numbers work, how to analyze them, and how to use them to your advantage,” he says. Following completion of the business analytics certificate, Mrowka found that the skills he developed were applicable to a variety of fields, giving him many careers to choose from.
With a BS in sport management, an MS in management, and a graduate certificate in business analytics under his belt, he entered the workforce with far more expertise than most of his peers. “I’m honored and lucky that I was able to get so many academic opportunities at Mason,” he says. Using tools from both his masters and certificate programs, he understands more fully how to react and socialize with colleagues in the business world, as well as using data to analyze trends. These tools have proven invaluable in his career today.
School of Business faculty includes high-level experts who have past or present experiences in the career fields that their students are pursuing, and that kind of industry connection opens a world of possibilities for students. Prior to beginning his analytics certificate, Mrowka had a career in sports in mind. However, his fraud examination class helped convince him to change directions and take his current position as a federal officer with the United States Capitol Police. “Larry Guerin was a retired FBI agent and just a really fantastic professor–one of the main reasons I’m doing what I am today,” he says. “I loved the way he taught his class and I would stay after to pick his brain about any thoughts he had of the career.”
In other courses for the certificate, Mrowka gained a thorough understanding of many initial areas of data analytics, including in marketing. “I had never really thought that some of these classes would help me with the Federal Law enforcement area, but the curriculum all helped me become a better person and employee,” he says. As much as he learned, he sees immense value out of the soon-to-be expanded graduate degree. “Everything has numbers, those numbers mean something, but most people don’t know what. This is a phenomenal area to study for any industry.”
George Mason University School of Business is currently accepting applications for its recently launched Master of Science in Business Analytics program. Designed to provide a deeper knowledge of analytics and data-driven decision-making, the program can be completed in just one year. This 30-credit program will offer convenient in-person evening courses on the Fairfax Campus to accommodate working professionals. Open to everyone looking to expand their skillset, no previous work experience is necessary to apply. The program includes a capstone course designed to provide hands-on sessions, teamwork, and active interactions with clients to understand and provide real-world solutions to business problems utilizing business analytics. Learn more about the Master’s in Business Analytics