We often associate risk with something that has a negative connotation, while missing out on the fact that risk is faced with any unexpected outcome, whether good or bad. Before starting my master’s degree, I worked in a bank where for us, the word “risk” meant that there was a fair chance of events going awry.
When I started the SMF program at The Ohio State Fisher College of Business, The Risk Institute’s Monday evening sessions caught my eye and I soon realized that risk meant so much more. There were different aspects of risk such as financial, political, operational and cyber, to name a few. Risk management teams would work to ensure that the risks faced by an organization were mitigated/reduced.
The Risk Institute hosted educational sessions with an array of speakers to give insight into the diverse risks that their companies anticipated, faced and tackled. All these sessions were immensely informative and interesting. What I had anticipated being a subject with a negative connotation, turned out to be a whole new world of meanings. In addition to the guest speakers, Phil and Denita at The Risk Institute guided us in the scope of risk in this day and age, which led me to take on coursework for enterprise risk management.
As a part of the Enterprise Risk Management course, I worked on one of the risk projects for Abbott Nutrition at their Columbus Plant. The project seemed fairly simple on paper, however, as our team began working we soon realized its complexities. The scope of the project was a bit broad and we were still in the process of getting acquainted with the risks that Abbott Nutrition’s plant faced vis-à-vis other technical risks that we had studied in classrooms. We decided it would be best to seek out The Risk Institute’s advice on how to go about our project. Phil was more than happy to help us formulate a plan of action and to advise us on how such projects were done by The Risk Institute. Throughout the short term of our project, Phil, Denita and our sponsors at Abbott Nutrition were involved and continually provided feedback. This helped us in delivering a product that was ultimately appreciated by Abbott Nutrition.
In addition to the curriculum, the members of The Risk Institute have also helped me with my job search. They suggested prospective employers, networking events and connected me with professionals who have considerable expertise in the field of risk management.
To sum up my experience, it was wonderful working with the members of the Risk Institute and I plan to give back to The Risk Institute in whatever way possible in the future. I graduated in spring of 2017 from Fisher College of Business after completing my SMF degree. I am currently on the lookout for roles and opportunities.