Ready to Make a Difference

Mark Lorenz ’22 is a business analytics major with a minor in supply chain management and is ready to make a difference in the business world. Mark has a job offer already lined up for after graduation from the Pandiut Company, an organization specializing in global electrical infrastructure in Tinley Park, Illinois. While his journey to find the right place to apply his skills and passions was an unusual one, he credits Valparaiso University, its program, and its professors with helping him find the opportunities for success in his future.

“The professors are a great resource for learning and getting connected with people in the industries that you’re interested in,” Mark says. “The Career Center was also a big help in landing my internship.”

A native of New Lenox, Illinois, Mark became interested in the professional business world when he was an employee of the Chicago Bulls youth programs. There he had the opportunity to shadow then-business analyst for the team, Daniel Jin.

“I got to go around the town with him and figure out what he does,” Mark says. “It was a really great experience. That’s when I knew that analytics is what I wanted to do.”

With his professional goal in mind, Mark chose Valparaiso University to pursue his career largely due to the environment and community he saw on campus.

“I wanted to go to a mid-sized school, not a huge university,” Mark says. “I wanted to go somewhere where I wasn’t just a number in the classroom, and where I could connect with my professors and get to know them.”
Sanjeev Jha, Ph.D., an associate professor of information and decision sciences, was one such professor with whom Mark made a connection.

“Working with Mark has been excellent,” Professor Jha says. “He has stood out because of his diligence and because he never misses a class, which is 50% of the work. He’s curious to learn.”

Mark was able to pursue an internship at the Panduit Corporation, and although he did not receive the position he initially applied for, he was offered an experience that would change the business career he wanted to pursue: a chance to work in robot process automation and market intelligence.

“Robot process automation is finding areas in the company where we can have a robot complete tasks instead of a human so they can focus on more advanced applications,” Mark says. “Market intelligence is researching our competitors and distributors and figuring out where we can find areas of growth that we can use to our advantage.”
Mark has also been able to continue his passion for athletics by engaging in research at Valpo. He is currently working with Coleen Wilder, Ph.D., an associate professor of information and decision science, analyzing the impact of COVID-19 on the athletic performance of home teams compared to previous seasons.

“Gathering data is a time-consuming task and like most real-world data it usually has errors,” Professor Wilder says. “Mark has a remarkable knack for finding these errors. He is very thorough and meticulous about cleaning the data so that subsequent analyses can be trusted. More importantly, he is a team player. He is willing to help others succeed and to fill in the gaps.”

Outside of his academic work, Mark has been heavily involved in campus life. He is a member of the professional business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi, the international honors society Beta Gamma Sigma, the College of Business Dean’s Leadership Council, and serves as the student body treasurer. He says that these academic and extracurricular experiences have helped him grow as a person as well as a professional.

“I’ve always struggled with confidence,” Mark says. “I feel like I’m a more confident person after taking on more leadership roles and trying to help out on campus where I can as student body treasurer.”

“Mark always responds to his civic responsibilities,” Professor Jha says. “He is very generous with his time.”

Mark said his involvement and education at Valparaiso University have taught him more than just hard facts and skills, but about the attitude one needs to make it in the business world.

“Speaking as a College of Business student, I didn’t know a whole lot about the business world and that professional mindset before I came here and got involved in different activities,” Mark says. “It’s really helped me come out of here with a full-time job.”