Pujith Sai Kumar Reddy Nooka

University of California, Riverside, School of Business | A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management (AGSM)

“I am an easy-going, shy extrovert and an early planner.”

Hometown: A small town called Railway Kodur and Andhra Pradesh, India

Fun Fact About Yourself: I am a huge fan of Japanese culture, and I speak six languages and am currently learning Japanese.

Undergraduate School and Major: Aarupadai Veedu Institute of Technology, and Bachelor of engineering in Computer Science

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Amazon Development Center, Device Associate

What word best describes the UC Riverside MBA students and alumni you’ve met so far? Best minds. There’s no denying that UCR only recruits the best minds around the world. The individuals I have interacted with are CEOs, entrepreneurs, C-suite executives, etc. It’s my privilege to be among these wonderful people, and they help me learn different ways of tackling problems and following up with unique approaches and solutions.

Aside from classmates, what was the key part of UC Riverside’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? It is one of the fastest-growing UC institutions and highly ranked business schools in the U.S. I would like to specialize in marketing, and UCR’s marketing professors are industry experts and masters in their fields. I am learning the latest techniques and tactics from faculty research and their instruction. In the future, this knowledge will help me build good marketing strategies.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at UC Riverside? I have enjoyed the Information Systems course, which is taught by Professor Rich Yueh. He is an amazing professor and knows how to make students feel comfortable; he’s also helpful outside of class and just a ring away for a phone call in a time of need. I also enjoy the Organizational Behavior course taught by Lecturer Alexandru Roman, who is a wizard at reading people’s personalities and shares ideas for running a flawless organization. I am always look forward to being in their classes.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I have always been in challenging environments, which equipped me with the skills to be persistent. During my undergrad years, I had to transfer universities for my engineering studies due to my budget constraints. Because of syllabus mismatch, I had to retake 35 subjects from the previous years and cleared them all. Earning, my undergraduate degree has been the greatest huddle I’ve cleared so far. Certainly, coming from India to do an MBA at UC Riverside is my biggest accomplishment. I was accepted to nine business schools, and I chose UCR. Crafting the MBA application is not an easy task and took so much time and hard work, but I enjoyed the process and would wake up in the middle of the night to jot down ideas and points in the SOP, and that’s what got me into UCR with a scholarship and teaching assistant position.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far? I have begun a startup project for organizational behavior and information systems, which is required for my courses. I secured an internship in my first quarter as a startup business consultant working on a fintech project at the National Science Foundation, which is funded by the federal government and under the guidance of Dr. Jay Gilberg. Here, I am mentored by one of the best entrepreneurs, Gioia Messinger. I am also working on campus currently in Information Technology Solutions as a multimedia operator.

What is your class’s favorite hangout away from school? Why do you gather there? We hang out every Thursday at the Getaway Café, which is located near campus. I have met so many awesome individuals across all backgrounds, including national and international athletes and many undergrads who have accomplished so much. I have made friends for life, and I met many of them at the Getaway Café, so it is a special place for us.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point and what do you hope to do after graduation? Before coming to UCR, I worked as a digital marketer. I had quick career growth and was promoted to associate product manager in a startup. I realized it was time to upgrade my technical and product management skills, so I applied to Amazon. There, I was hired as a device testing associate and conducted testing on Alexa and Fire TV devices. After gaining those skills, I wanted to apply my management and technical experience and break into product management: I decided to go back to school and start with the basics to be more qualified and confident in handling the big projects. With the current job market, earning my MBA now appears to be good timing; when I graduate, the job market will be fruitful with more opportunities than ever.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE UC RIVERSIDE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS MBA CLASS OF 2024