Victoria Hu

What drew you to enroll in Cornell's Engineering Management program?

I was attracted to the Engineering Management program because it is a very unique program that prepares students to engineer better decisions. It emphasizes the importance of integrating quantitative and qualitative analysis in decision making in order to develop the best solutions. Decision making is a very interesting study and I wanted to learn how to apply fundamental economic knowledge with scientific methods to design processes that manage risks and decisions.

I also earned my Bachelors in Biological Engineering (with a Minor in Business) at Cornell, and I really enjoyed my time here. Cornell's ambitious students and supportive professors provide a challenging, intellectually stimulating environment, which has allowed me to reach my full potential. I believe that there are few schools that can surpass the quality of education here. I loved it so much that I decided to stay for my M.Eng. I also wanted a 5th Ithaca Winter.

During my undergraduate studies, I realized that I enjoyed the data analysis aspect of engineering a lot more than I enjoyed my time in the lab. I like the idea of understanding systems and manipulating them to work in my favor. I enjoy the process of analyzing data to provide insights because it challenges me to dig deeper to find a way to turn uncertainty into possibility. That is why I wanted to study how to help people make smarter decisions that are driven by facts and scientific methods. So I began pursuing a degree in Engineering Management.

What are your post-graduation plans?

I will be working at McKinsey's Knowledge Center as a Banking and Financial Services Analyst.

What is the best part about the program?

My favorite part about the Engineering Management program at Cornell is the people that I have met. Everyone has very diverse backgrounds and career goals and it is interesting to learn how Engineering Management can be applied to so many different fields.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I enjoy painting and photography.