Bhavia Velayudhan
Rady's flexible culture helped her juggle challenging coursework with a toddler in tow
When considering a master’s program, Bhavia Velayudhan (MQF '22) had a plan. With experience as both a software engineer and program manager, she knew she’d found her true passion when she stepped into a new function — revenue operations.
At the time, revenue operations was an emerging field. But with her experience in software and program development, Velayudhan could see that her skills made it easy to transition into a role that translated product-specific goals into company-wide revenue forecasting.
She also knew that in order to propel her career development in line with the growth of this new area of business, she needed to build a stronger foundation in finance. So when selecting a Master of Quantitative Finance (MQF) program, curriculum, faculty, experiential learning, industry access, and a strong network were critical.
But Velayudhan also had another important factor in mind — as a single mother to a then four-year-old, she was looking for the right business school, the right program, and the right campus culture. Flexibility was important, but so too were the people she’d be learning from, and working with, throughout her program, given that her daughter would also be with her.
Determined to earn her degree, Velayudhan reached out to the admissions team at Rady to ask whether pursuing a Master’s of Quantitative Finance might be possible for a single parent.
“I told them, I’m a single mom. I have a four-year-old. And I’m planning on pursuing the MQF degree at Rady.” Their response? “That’s amazing! You should.”
To her delight, the admissions team confirmed that it was not only possible, but they’d be happy to work with her to create a schedule and connect her to on-campus resources to get her set up. Before she knew it, they had moved to sunny San Diego, set up their home within a campus dormitory, and her daughter Ami was enrolled in San Diego’s on-campus pre-school.
“My schedule was intense. I would start studying at 4 or 5 A.M. before Ami woke up for the day. But I could manage my schoolwork, course schedule, and Ami’s schedule because the pre-school was roughly a five minute walk away from home.”
And it wasn’t only the proximity of her on-campus housing to her courses and the preschool that made her experience possible, it was also the unexpected community of support she found when she joined Rady.
“I had figured out my schedule up until the third quarter when I had night classes. I reached out to Professor Robert Schmidt, who taught the class, to explain that I did not have evening childcare. He told me I should bring my daughter to class with me." She quickly became friends with Professor Schmidt, as well as her classmates. "They even included Ami in the class experience, making it fun for her as well.”
This was not an isolated event — Velayudhan lists the names of half a dozen professors, admissions team members, and fellow classmates that helped to make both her and Ami's experience successful and deeply memorable.
And it was because of Rady’s welcoming and inviting culture that she was able to take part in the full MQF program experience.
“I learned so much from my courses on revenue forecasting, econometrics, venture capital, and cost analysis. The professors really care about helping to get us set up on the right path too — they were willing to extend their network to me to ensure I had the right experience, and found the right opportunity.”
Fundamental to shaping her full program experience was also participating in the Rady Accelerator, a new venture program that offered students an opportunity to pitch concepts to real-world investors. Not only did she receive positive feedback, but the investors were pleased to include her daughter in the event as well. “Ami is probably the youngest Rady entrepreneur to have pitched to an investor,” jokes Velayudhan. The duo along with their co-founder — took fourth overall in the product demo day. “I cannot thank Kim Davis, who runs the accelerator program, enough for helping to make that experience for both Ami and I so remarkable.”
It was because of Rady’s culture — and the unexpected village that helped to create experiences like these that Velayudhan is quick to recommend Rady to all prospective students. “Even if you’re not a single parent like me, joining the MQF program at Rady, with world-renowned faculty, cutting-edge curriculum, and a campus culture of inclusion, sets you up for the rest of your career.”
Today, Velayudhan is leading revenue operations at SoftBank Robotics America. “I use the financial and revenue forecasting models I learned at Rady daily.” She credits her ongoing friendships with Rady faculty for helping her to focus on continuous improvement.
And her dedication to building something new? That’s as strong as ever. Velayudhan recently designed two special projects — the first, a free-to-use AI interview assistant that provides feedback from video interview prompts for job seekers called Morpheus. And the second, named Curiosity, is a ChatGPT-based learning app.
She’s already received feedback from users who credit her free apps for helping them land jobs, and understand complex topics more easily. And Velayudhan is excited for her career ahead. She loves her role at SoftBank Robotics, where she’ll continue to build new concepts to help improve others’ lives.
