Biography
From the knowledgeable professors, hands-on experience and even the Atlanta climate, Goizueta’s MS in Business Analytics program felt like a perfect fit for Leon Vambe. A native of Zimbabwe, Leon quickly found Atlanta to be a home away from home, making his decision to attend Goizueta even easier. Before entering the program, he worked in technology risk and had extensive experience with data. “I was pretty comfortable with my technical skills, but I wanted something that merges my technical skills and my business understanding,” Leon says. “I wanted something that helped me to gain an in-depth understanding of the businesses, and to mix that with the technical expertise that I have and try to drive strategic decisions.”
Leon discovered Goizueta’s MS in Business Analytics program and was impressed with the faculty teaching the courses, as well as the experiential learning opportunities. While in the program, Leon got real-world experience working on a project with The Home Depot. “By the end of the practicum, I hope to get a strong knowledge in natural language processing, and be able to apply that knowledge in real-world problems and drive strategic decisions in that business,” he says.
When Leon first came to Emory, he saw himself as a business intelligence professional working in a risk management setting, but after sitting in the classrooms and working on projects, he learned there’s so much more he can do with data. “I discovered that I actually love data engineering, and I can actually mix that with my business,” Leon says. “I’m upskilling and using the information that I got from the professors and trying to push my career trajectory towards data engineering.”
Beyond the classroom, Leon feels he has grown as an individual. While he has always considered himself an introvert, Leon has really learned how to collaborate with others. “[The program] teaches you how to network,” he says. “I would say the program not only focuses on the academic aspects of it, but it also focuses on molding you and building you as an all-around full stack professional.”