Andish Bagheri

Andish Bagheri is a senior from Vienna, Virginia and he is studying Business Management with the concentration in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology (EIT).  Andish started a tutoring business for students with low income about four years ago. K12 Smartest, based in Tysons Corner, Virginia now has five part-time employees. 

We recently asked him to share his experiences as a Management major and as a Pamplin College of Business student.

Why did you choose Virginia Tech? When and why did you choose MGT?

Since I was in high school, I always had the dream of attending Virginia Tech. I was looking for top business schools in Virginia and of course, Virginia Tech was one of them. Before attending Virginia Tech, I was aware of my leadership strength and on top of that, I was so motivated about creating jobs, helping people and becoming an Entrepreneur; therefore, I chose Business Management as my major.

Name specific classes that you remember as validating your major choice to date? 

I always try to learn something out of my classes that will help me with my future profession even from the elective classes that are not related to my field and are not part of the Pamplin College of Business. However, there were three classes that I think helped me the most to have a better knowledge of the business world.

First is, BIT 2406 - Quantitative Methods, which helped me a lot with my decision making in my tutoring business and as well as problem-solving in my everyday life as a business major. After that, MGT 3064 Cornerstones of Entrepreneurship was a great opportunity for me to learn more about the business innovation process and apply them in my creative thinking for my upcoming startup. Last but not least, MGT 3604 - Managerial Analytics, which demonstrated the way of finding and analyzing small and big data for businesses. I enjoyed that class a lot because it was one of my technical classes. 

Has there been a faculty member or staff member within Pamplin that has served as a mentor or source of inspiration for you during your journey?

It is difficult for me to choose just one faculty member since there were many of them who I learned from. Among all those great people, my legal & ethics professor, Ms. Price has been a great mentor by guiding me with my graduate school plans. Also, Mr. Howard Haines, Associate Director of the Apex Center, has always been a great mentor for my entrepreneurial life. He improved my risk-taking strength as an entrepreneur by giving me professional practices.

What/who is your inspiration for leadership? 

I have been inspired by many people to work hard and achieve more accomplishments. Among all those, my mother who has always been a great mentor for me and has inspired me the most. She is always calm and strong during tough situations in her life. She is extremely active and continually keeps herself occupied. Her “never give up” mindset has inspired me through my college and professional career. Also, I constantly try to find hardworking friends to pull me up in cases that I am not motivated enough. My peers have inspired me a lot to overcome many obstacles and stay motivated in college.

What advice would you provide to an incoming Pamplin freshman?

  • It is never too early to find an internship or starting your own business. Even a freshman can find an internship.
  • Join one or two academic clubs and no more because you need to stay focused.
  • Networking, Networking, Networking your network can make a huge difference with you finding an internship.  
“What I like about the Management department is that everyone is working so hard to increase the overall quality of the department within the Pamplin College of Business. From students to faculty members, everyone is helping each other to grow and learn. Based on my experience in the Management department, everyone is very focused on developing the students and continuous innovation of the curriculum.”
MGT SOCIETY EXECUTIVE TEAM

What are your plans during your senior year?

My plan for my senior year is to pay more attention to my role as the Vice-President of the Management Society. My ultimate goal is to focus on growing the Management Society and the awareness of our mission to the rest of the Pamplin College of Business. Since this is my last year, I will try to spend more time with people on campus and I want to try all the restaurants in downtown Blacksburg and more importantly go to all the football games.   

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