Rupal Trivedi 鈥�94, 鈥�95, 鈥�22 knew just where to turn when she wanted to get an MBA.聽
鈥淭he professors at UMass Lowell are so knowledgeable. They care deeply for their students, and they really invest their time,鈥� says Trivedi, a Triple River Hawk. 鈥淎苍d economically speaking, it鈥檚 the best value.鈥澛�
Originally from Ahmedabad, India, Trivedi earned bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees in computer science at UML. That set her on course for a computer engineering career that has taken her to Hewlett-Packard, Lucent Technologies, Broadcom and beyond.
As Trivedi ascended to more managerial roles 鈥� most recently as a senior engineering manager at athenahealth, a health services company headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts 鈥� she realized she lacked a business background. She was an expert in software, but not so much in accounting, finance and operations management.
鈥淎苍 MBA is the key. It has opened my eyes to a world I didn鈥檛 know about before,鈥� says Trivedi, who chose concentrations in information technology and managerial leadership. 鈥淭he hands-on coursework 鈥� in negotiations, organization, marketing, project management, database 鈥� is just amazing. It鈥檚 very much relevant to the work I do in my industry.鈥�
Trivedi, who works in electronic health records for athenahealth, has called Lowell home ever since arriving for college in 1990.
鈥淚 never left. I love the city so much,鈥� says Trivedi, who also met her future husband, Harish Hande 鈥�98, 鈥�00, 鈥�13 (H), at UM. A social entrepreneur who co-founded Solar Electric Light Co. India, Hande delivered UML鈥檚 Graduate Commencement address in 2013.
A decade later, he and their two children 鈥� daughter Adhishri and son Ameya 鈥� were back on campus for Trivedi鈥檚 Graduate Commencement ceremony.