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"Kristen was a rare student in the department whose excellence in the classroom was matched, and perhaps even surpassed, by her excellence as a student leader. In her long-running role as President of the Statistics and Actuarial Science Student Association, Kristen was organized, inspirational, and visionary. She initiated numerous activities and deftly arranged for other executives and members to serve in roles to bring the initiatives to reality."
- Thomas M. Loughin
Kristen Bystrom
Management of Technology master's student in the Beedie School of Business
I work at Yelp as a Data Science Analyst while pursuing the MoT MBA program. I have a BSc in Statistics and Computing Science from SFU and my previous work experiences include Statistics Canada, George & Bell Consulting, Electronic Arts, and lululemon. I am also currently serving as a board member for the non-profit startup Haiven and hold several volunteer positions at organizations such as Vancouver Datajam and Destination Imagination BC. I am a hackathon enthusiast, bookworm, and musical theater aficionado.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO COME TO SFU?
I completed my undergrad degree at SFU as well and had an incredible experience so it was a natural choice to return for my graduate degree. There are so many opportunities at SFU outside of the normal class schedule and I have made lifelong friends from the SFU community.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RESEARCH OR YOUR PROGRAM TO A FAMILY MEMBER?
The MoT MBA is all about growing and developing as a leader in technology. Personally, my focus is on how I can apply what I am learning about tech leadership to the data science industry so that I can be well equipped for data science management and director positions.
WHAT ARE YOU PARTICULARLY ENJOYING ABOUT YOUR STUDIES/RESEARCH AT SFU?
The cohort style of my program is engaging and motivating. I love working closely with the same group every semester as I am able to build strong relationships with other tech leaders in a variety of roles and we learn just as much or more from each other than we do from our professors.
HAVE YOU BEEN THE RECIPIENT OF ANY MAJOR OR DONOR-FUNDED AWARDS? IF SO, PLEASE TELL US WHICH ONES AND A LITTLE ABOUT HOW THE AWARDS HAVE IMPACTED YOUR STUDIES AND/OR RESEARCH.
I am the recipient of the Rix Family Bio MOTMBA Grad Scholarship, and the Lin Perceval Graduate Scholarship for Fall 2021. These awards made a huge difference for me being able to enroll in and pay for my degree. It was a goal of mine to complete my MBA degree early in my career so that I could fully invest my time in it and get the most out of it before I have more family responsibilities in the future. These awards helped me with that goal.