Deheta Emma Akue studied Biology and Psychology in her undergraduate degree, but knew she wanted to learn more about financial accounting after graduating. That’s when she found Columbia’s Advanced Graduate Certificate in Business.
This semester, Akue has been able to take Eleni Vrana’s “Introduction to Finance,” in-person through a socially-distanced HyFlex classroom.
“I’ve had a good experience in HyFlex courses,” Akue said. “My favorite experience has been group projects. I think it is critical for students to work together since social distancing is making it hard for us to get to know each other.”
What brought you into the Business Certificate program?
I plan to work in marketing and/or management and after doing some research it looked like an MBA could be too soon for me, so I decided to enroll in the Advanced Graduate Certificate in Business because I think that is a complete and rigorous program that will allow me to gain more work experience until I apply for an MBA.
What has your experience been like in HyFlex courses?
The professor has the class set up in a way that allows in person-students to see online-students. The lecturer makes sure that in-person students don’t take over when it comes to class participation because the lecturer is aware of the difficulty for online students to participate as much as us. The benefit of being in person is the ability to ask questions to professors right after the lecture if we don’t feel comfortable to ask them during the lecture.
How are you staying connected with faculty and your peers during this time?
I am staying connected by joining Columbia clubs such as the Women and Sustainability organization and by regularly joining our zoom calls every month. I also plan on participating in other university initiatives that are committed to helping the Columbia communities.
What do you hope to do with the Business Certificate in the future?
I hope that the whole experience will help me gain relevant professional skills and build a network of professionals in various industries.
Any advice for students who might be considering joining the program in HyFlex Courses?
I would advise students to make sure that they are connecting with in-person students as well as online students. It is important to talk to everyone to gain knowledge from each other and to benefit from the mix of academic and professional experience that is unique at SPS.
Learn more about the Advanced Graduate Certificate in Business here.
