A car accident years ago left Olia Bosovik’s body badly bruised and her college savings account completely drained, but the determined young student from Belarus refused to allow the setback to crush her dream of obtaining a business degree in the U.S.
“After the accident, I found out that my parents' insurance didn’t cover me and I had to pay a large sum of money since it was my fault. It almost made me give up since all the money I had saved for school was gone,” the recent Naveen Jindal School of Management graduate recalled.
Olia Bosovik celebrates her graduation with Jared Pickens (left), director for undergraduate finance, and Associate Dean Matt Polze.
With little guidance or financial support from family, college became a leap that she would have to brave without a safety net. While pursuing her dual bachelor’s degrees in finance and accounting at the Jindal School, Bosovik worked full time for five years for an upscale clothing designer, working her way up from sales associate to assistant manager.
Bosovik managed to stay the course. Her drive and ambition did not go unnoticed by other students and professors. After the fall semester, Bosovik won the finance area’s first ever “Outstanding Undergraduate Finance Student” award. Graduating seniors nominated students whom they believed represent the best of the undergraduate finance program; faculty members considered several factors including GPA, leadership qualities and activities outside the classroom.
“Olia is a true success story, showing that goals of the highest ambition can be achieved with the right type of attitude, commitment and drive,” said Jared Pickens, director for undergraduate finance.
Pickens,who taught Bosovik in one of his classes, describes her as a “front-row type of student who was always on time and ready to take notes and ask questions. Her group’s final case was of the highest quality and at the top of her class,” Pickens said. “I believe Olia was nominated by her peers because she is a great leader and role model for our degree program.”
“I feel very blessed and lucky to have the opportunity to live, work and go to school in the U.S. I have always felt that no matter how hard the obstacles may be or how difficult the problem may seem, there is always a way to get through it. You just have to keep trying.”
Olia Bosovik,
winner of the Outstanding Undergraduate Finance Student award
“I’m driven by success and reward. I know that in America pretty much anything is possible if you have the right mindset, good work ethic and are driven,” Bosovik said. “I had a very difficult childhood, didn’t see my parents very much and had to overcome a lot of adversity. I had to learn most everything through trial and error. This has helped shape my character and who I have become today. I know that there is no challenge big enough that I cannot overcome.”
Bosovik grew up in Belarus, a small country just south of Russia that is smaller than the state of Texas. She played the piano, took dance lessons and learned to speak Russian, English and French. Spanish is the next language she plans to conquer this year. She loves music and was planning to attend the Music Conservatory in Minsk. However, her parents moved to Texas and she soon followed.
“After coming here in 2006, I realized it was going to be a lot harder to continue my education due to financial issues and it took me a few years to believe I could actually do it. I decided to take a completely different spin and started thinking about a business degree instead,” Bosovik said.
After transferring to UT Dallas from Richland Community College, Bosovik quickly shined academically. She received the Dean’s Excellence Scholarship twice and graduated in December 2012 with a 3.8 GPA.
She has accepted a job as a credit analyst with Comerica Bank in Dallas and plans to return to UT Dallas next summer to begin work on her master’s degree in accounting.
“One person who nominated Olia for the award said, ‘She is a great student but an even better person.’ This was very powerful because we want our students coming out of finance to be hard-working and good individuals. We want them to leave here and make the world better,” Pickens said.
Bosovik plans to one day manage her own company, have a family, travel the world and continue learning. “There is always room for growth and something new to learn. I’m not one of those people who stop and stay stagnant when they reach a certain point. I will always move forward in my own development and career,” she said.
“I feel very blessed and lucky to have the opportunity to live, work and go to school in the U.S.,” Bosovik said. “I have always felt that no matter how hard the obstacles may be or how difficult the problem may seem, there is always a way to get through it. You just have to keep trying.”