Thriving in Data Analytics

Born and raised in Indonesia, Clara Wolff knew that she wanted to pursue a career in innovative technology at an early age. She grew up in a family of successful entrepreneurs who played a significant role in growing the local community and economy.

Clara studied Operations and Information Systems at the University of Colorado – Boulder, where she graduated in 2016. She dreamed of working in analytics and chose to pursue a master's degree at Opus College to jump-start her career a year later.

She's grateful she made the leap. "With countless experiential and practical learning opportunities in both IT and business, I didn't hesitate to apply," she says. "Opus has given me the confidence to tackle new challenges at work with a critical and creative mindset."

The MS in Business Analytics program has propelled Clara’s career in analytics within two years at Best Buy. She shares a few things that stand out from her experience at Opus.

Making an immediate impact

Less than a year into the program, Clara accepted a new role as a Fraud Investigative Analyst. Using coursework learnings in SQL, spreadsheet modeling, predictive analytics and pattern discovery, she identified customer refund fraudulent activities that saved the company from further financial losses. 

The technical and soft skills I learned jump-started my career as an analyst.

Group projects with classmates taught Clara how to be a project manager, problem-solver, and team player at work. Colleagues and managers expressed they enjoy working with her, and leadership praised her ability to tackle issues from a different perspective. "Adapting to having a creative mindset has taught me to be less afraid of taking on new challenges at work.”

Since moving to a different department, Clara has continued to build on her theoretical and practical knowledge. Her deep analytical expertise has led to exciting new projects, including being promoted to Senior IT auditor at the age of 24.

Practical advice for prospective students

With a rapidly changing technological world, competition in the workplace continues to grow. In this day and age, Clara advises, it's not about what you learned early in your career, but how you continue to learn.

"In my experience, the best way to keep learning is to stay proactive, take on new challenges, and never say no to learning opportunities that come your way. You may never know what you'll learn from those challenges or where it can lead you."