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Outstanding Graduating Senior: Victoria Polchinski

When Victoria Polchinski left her home state of Virginia, she was in search of some sunshine. She got more than she bargained for when she arrived in Tempe, Arizona, in August. Each semester the W. P. Carey School of Business singles out one student from each department who demonstrates academic excellence, leadership in extracurricular activities, commitment to civic leadership activities in the community, and the excellent communication skills that allow the student to articulate goals, experiences, and contributions. In May, Victoria represented the Department of Information Systems.

2014-07-24

When Victoria Polchinski left her home state of Virginia she was in search of some sunshine. She got more than she bargained for when she arrived in Tempe in August. The heat didn’t dampen her spirits though: she fell in love with Arizona, its beautiful landscape and the opportunity for adventure and advancement.

She also found a home in the W. P. Carey School of Business Information Systems Department. Polchinski developed a passion for helping others understand the sometimes-complicated world of computer information systems — so much so that she was awarded the Outstanding Graduating Senior award in the department.

“Victoria Polchinski is a one-of-a-kind student, community builder, mentor and inspirational leader,” said Michael Goul, the information systems department chairman, in his letter nominating Polchinski for the honor.

Each semester the W. P. Carey School of Business singles out one student from each department who demonstrates academic excellence, leadership in extracurricular activities, commitment to civic leadership activities in the community and the excellent communication skills that allow the student to articulate goals, experiences and contributions.

“Victoria has performed remarkably in the classroom and her level of leadership and engagement in the school and broader community is outstanding,” Goul said.

Polchinski graduated in May with a 3.67 GPA and has already started her career with General Motors Co. at their IT Innovation Center in open user interface (UI) software development. Polchinski will be designing and developing web pages that operators see and use on a web site.

In addition to Outstanding Graduating Senior, Polchinski was awarded several scholarships, including the ASU Dean’s Scholarship and the State Farm Insurance Scholarship. A Dean’s List student at ASU, Polchinski was also valedictorian of her high school graduating class.

Designing a future

Polchinski started her college career with a different path in mind. She was going to study interior design.

“If someone had told me I would eventually graduate from the W. P. Carey School of Business with a degree in computer information systems, I probably would have stared at them completely bewildered because I had my heart set on studying interior design and I had no clue what CIS was or how it could be part of my future,” she said.

Computer information systems caught her attention after she attended a first-year student introductory program and learned about the many options in the CIS field.

“I saw the cool opportunities in CIS and I wanted a degree with more flexibility,” Polchinski said.

Joining the CIS program within the W. P. Carey School of Business was the best decision Polchinski said she made during college because it gave her the tools to land internships with ICS Nett — a small information technology company — PricewaterhouseCoopers and Avnet.

“I was really happy that I got the balance between both business and IT because everything comes back to business,” she said. “It was really great for me to understand everything from that perspective.”

She dove into the CIS world head first, joining DISC (Department of Information Systems Club), where she was elected vice president of member relations and vice president of community service. Part of her job as community service VP was to manage the weekly classes at the Tempe Public Library where students teach basic computer skills and software programs to library patrons. Polchinski also developed a passion for introducing and connecting women to STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — careers.

“I’m really big on getting more girls into STEM disciplines,” she said.

She joined and was most recently the president of Women in STEM, an on-campus group dedicated to connecting and empowering women in STEM fields. Polchinski said when she was a young girl she didn’t know much about computers or the opportunities in that field.

“I didn’t know those options were available to me,” she said.

The group brings together women in many different STEM programs who all have a need to learn CIS in those disciplines, Polchinski said.

“It brings all of those groups together so that we can learn from one another,” she said.

h2>Hitting the trail

Polchinski also has a love of nature and being outdoors. One of the first clubs she joined when she got to campus was the ASU Outdoors Club or AOC. Rock climbing, camping, biking, and canyoneering around the state made Polchinski fall in love with Arizona.

“I absolutely love it,” she said of the Grand Canyon state. The AOC gave her “the opportunity to see some amazing places in Arizona,” she said.

Last year she was elected the president of the 450-member club. In her role she led outings around the Southwest and planned social events designed to help members get to know each other and make the big campus feel smaller.

The AOC led Polchinski into another venture. She is a co-founder of Local Gear Exchange, which will connect outdoor enthusiasts and allows them to buy, sell and exchange used gear. Once up and running, the exchange will help novice adventurers get into the outdoor community at a fraction of the cost.

Polchinski has plans to stay involved with the campus clubs as an alumnus; she’ll speak to DISC and Women in STEM about her career after college and join the AOC on weekend outings.

She also believes in lending a hand. She spent time as a volunteer with Future for Kids where she tutored underprivileged kids and she has served as a team captain for the Tour de Cure, benefitting the American Diabetes Association, biking as much as 100 kilometers to raise money for diabetes research and prevention.

When she’s not at work, Polchinski can be found biking, rock climbing and hiking with her coworkers. Her love for Arizona will most likely keep her here long term, she admitted.

“I absolutely love Arizona, I love the heat,” she said.

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