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Claire Warshavsky M. Eng in Operations Research and Information Engineering I am pursuing a master’s degree in Operations Research at Columbia University. This primarily is due to the experiences I have gained and the passion I have developed working in operations over the past four years. It has driven my interest in establishing an academic foundation to advance in my career. My long term goal is to continue to work with companies to optimize resources and enhance profitability which is one the objectives for any company.

I believe the Operations Research program at Columbia University will give me the practical skills and knowledge to achieve my goals.I have always been fascinated by optimization. In fourth grade I decided to design my first optimization database in order to maximize my wardrobe options from my current selection. The driving force was my desire to wear a different outfit every day. This induced me to categorize each article of clothing in my closet: as top or bottom; cool or warm weather clothing; and, by color.

I put all of the information on my Hello Kitty grid paper, in multi colored pencils. You may think of me as a designer in disguise with the proper tools. This was exciting to me in my early years. Colored papers, coloring pencils, and scissors all over the place not to mention my wardrobe.As it might be obvious from the use of a database for a wardrobe, my interests spread over a broad spectrum of topics, which made Colgate University a good match for me. I was able to take advantage of the liberal arts education program by studying classes across a broad curriculum in many different departments.

I finally chose a major in Computer Science since it would be a good background for many jobs and the ability to code programs is a valuable skill. As a result, after graduation, I have been successful at teaching myself various programming languages in my office. I taught myself: HTML for web pages; VBA for Microsoft Excel calculations; and, SQL for database reporting. My programming foundation has given me invaluable tools for problem solving and has been very helpful for agile learning-on-the-job for outstanding performance.

The problem solving techniques I learned at Colgate assisted me in developing my current position at Salesforce.com (a software development company) into a valuable role for the company. This enabled me to work and increase revenues from sales. I was able to recognize customer buying patterns. Some customers buy from each office location and other customers buy through a centralized purchase. I spotted characteristics that show which companies are more likely to buy from a centralized location.

I was responsible for assigning those customers to sales representatives according to purchasing habits. By mirroring our customer’s buying patterns and segmenting our market, Salesforce.com is maximizing the use of its sales representatives’ time and is also reducing the chances of making calls to people who are not decision makers. In my prior position, as an associate at Lord, Abbett & Co. (a wealth management firm), I learned the different processes involved in Accounting Operations.

The firm is targeted to increase assets under management three-fold, while minimizing the growth of employees and costs associated with the Operations Department. This makes it cost effective for the company.To achieve that goal, I worked on a project that identified bottlenecks within specific teams in the Operations Department, such as inefficient processes or teams which might be able to take on more responsibilities. I created a model to show the current capacity of each team for both inter and intra team processes.

My model Claire Warshavsky M. Eng in Operations Research and Information Engineeringallowed the Chief Officer of Operations to evaluate the capacity at which the department was performing and it was further implemented to develop hiring plans.My interest in operations carries over into my volunteer activities. I worked with Dress for Success, a non-profit organization that helps move women from welfare into the workforce by preparing them for job interviews and work. The organization hosts approximately eleven different volunteer sessions which meet multiple times a week.

I helped to alleviate the difficulties in finding volunteers to lead these events by working closely with the volunteer director. We developed a model which ensures that the pattern of sessions available to the women matched the volunteers’ abilities and timeframes. This made it an interesting match and one which we all enjoyed due to the women´s and volunteer´s satisfaction.Studying for a master’s degree in Operations Research will strengthen my skills and give me the ability to apply in-depth knowledge to my career.

Throughout my work experience I have been able to apply my undergraduate education and learn new skills that become important to my projects. Although learning on the job is extremely valuable I recognize that studying complex topics and following an advanced curriculum will provide me with the necessary tools and give me a more comprehensive understanding. I want to continue as a graduate student at Columbia University in your Applied Operations Research Concentration and the Semester in Strategic Operations as these are closely aligned with my interests, such as the courses that you offer: Game Theoretic Models of Operations; Capacity Planning; Models, Algorithms and Applications; and, Dynamic Pricing and Revenue Management.

This is also related to the fact that Columbia University wants to ensure that the academics are the right foundation for students in their after-graduation work pursuits. I am interested in obtaining more knowledge in combinatorial optimization. I will be in a position to work in building a foundation that will optimize my career goals.I am a serious worker with a sense of humor. I work independently and as a team member working on reaching a goal. I meet deadlines before or on due dates to meet the requirements of the projects.

I am reliable and innovative in ideas and I enjoy being part of the learning and implementation processes.I hope that Columbia University gives me the opportunity to become a graduate student so that I may advance in my professional career goals. It is with excitement that I apply to Columbia University to become part of one of the most outstanding universities in the country and internationally in this area of Operations Research.