Hello, World
Hello, world. My name is Sofia Eliseeva. I’m a first-year part-time MBA student at the Tepper School of Business. I was born in a tiny-yet-older-than-the-US city in Russia called Irkutsk. My parents immigrated with me in tow the summer of 2001. Somehow we were lucky enough
to get our start in Maryland, and I spent the rest of my childhood/early adulthood in Maryland. I attended the University of Maryland, and completed my Bachelor in Computer Science in 2018. It wasn’t until my first (and only) post-grad job that I moved to Virginia, where I have been ever since.
Under one of the waterfalls at Watkin’s Glen
I’m currently employed as a software engineer at a wearable tech startup called Upskill. I applied to Tepper because it’s always been my goal to pivot into tech leadership and business management, while still keeping my technical background. I’m beyond excited to be here, and to have the opportunity to meet so many incredible, brilliant people. I still can’t quite believe that all of this is happening, if we’re being real honest.
In the free time I have outside of classes and work, I have a number of hobbies I enjoy pursuing. I’ll dedicate a short paragraph to each of my main hobbies: video games, adventures, and working out.
I’ll start off with the first item in the list- video games. I am a huge fan of story-line based games. While I do prefer the RPG style, I am entirely open to FPS games. My top games are probably Divinity: Original Sin 2 and the Bioshock series. In case you’re wondering, I am, in fact, a fan of DND. I’m actually in a campaign with some of my college friends, where I play a Halfling Pirate that enjoys attacking from the shadows!
Divinity Original Sin 2 Official Game Poster
While I do enjoy spending an entire night arguing over flagons of bear and fighting owlbears, I also enjoy going on adventures outside. These can be food adventures, or hiking adventures! When I was in China last summer, I tried out sea cucumber! For inquiring minds, the sea cucumber itself was pretty bland in flavor, but it did absorb the flavors of the sauce very well! I also enjoy outdoor adventures- during the summer, I did a trip up to Watkins Glen, New York with two of my best friends. We ended up staying out by Lake Honeoye and enjoyed a weekend of hiking and walking around the lakes!
Lastly, when I’m not wandering the trails or destroying my laptop’s RAM, I enjoy a good workout. Over the last several years, I’ve become a bit of a weightlifter. Since quarantine hit, I’ve switched over into body weight exercises. My primary goal went from maxing out my deadlift, to learning to do a pistol squat, and building strength to doing a pull up! It’s been my main motivator for staying active during lockdown, where I have gotten way to comfortable in my office chair!
Mentally preparing to eat Sea Cucumber for the first time
When she’s not working, Sofia loves a good adventure. That might be hiking in a new area, or trying a new restaurant in the area. Pre-COVID, she attended many concerts and hopes to return to doing so when we achieve the new normal. Since COVID, she’s dedicated her free time to building the strength to do a full pull-up, and to exploring the culinary arts.
- Unity and Allyship in Leadership - March 11, 2021
- Hello, World - September 17, 2020
I had forgotten about Divinity II until recently; it’s cool to see someone in CMU who also plays!
Welcome to the part-time program, Sofia!!