Student Balances Career with Pursuing a BAS in Business Management and Technology

Veronika Pshenytska loves her current job analyzing marketing data and executing plans for clients at Accenture. The international consulting firm is one of the largest in the world, helping corporations meet their goals through the latest technology.

Pshenytska is also finishing up her degree at Bellevue College. In 2025-26, she will graduate with a Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) in Business Management and Technology.

While working at Accenture, Pshenytska decided to return to college in 2023 and complete her undergraduate degree. Since she’d already completed many computer science classes prior to going back to school, she wanted to find a degree that fit her background.

“I was looking for something that combined business and technology,” she said. “I explored several schools but many of the programs felt outdated after my time at Accenture. I also wanted something affordable. When I took a look at Bellevue College and saw the list of classes and the tools that we would be using (in the business management and technology degree), I felt that was what I wanted. That my time would not be wasted.”

As a marketing transformation analyst at Accenture, Pshenytska manages B2B marketing campaigns, spending time meeting with internal teams and external clients before sitting down at the computer to craft the campaigns.

“I focus on helping big enterprise companies navigate through digital transformation,” said Pshenytska. “What specifically I’m doing is marketing optimization. I’m responsible for all the technology and logic behind their marketing initiatives. I’m also a client-facing person who is in touch with the client constantly, helping to define their goals and KPIs (key performance indicators).”

Being able to combine technology and marketing is one of the best parts of doing what she does, said Pshenytska. She calls it a “sweet spot” for her many interests, including her love of languages and working with people from many cultures.

After she started taking business management and technology classes at Bellevue College, she found the emphasis on project-based learning lived up to her expectations.

“The most practical professor that I’ve ever worked with is Zorica Wacker,” she said. “All her classes are project-based. If I ever decide to move to another job, I will definitely use those projects in my resume.”

A bonus was discovering Bellevue College faculty’s willingness to help her meet her academic goals while she held down a career. Both her instructors and her manager at Accenture worked with her to set a schedule that allowed her to attend classes, and they show equal understanding when unavoidable conflicts happen. If she had to attend a client meeting outside normal work hours, she said the faculty understood and helped her. Today she combines a mix of remote classes with time on campus. It’s not always easy, Pshenytska admitted, but she’s making it work.

“The staff are extremely responsive too,” she said. “I remember before I started, I reached out with questions, sharing my story, and telling them about what I had completed. They really supported me, and I felt extremely confident when I started. The staff were very honest with me too, like what classes I would have to attend in person as well as (what was available) remote.”

Her time at Bellevue College also helped Pshenytska learn more about the business community and corporate cultures in the region.

“It’s a great networking place,” she said. “I’ve already met people who work at Microsoft and Amazon in my classes,” she said, noting that she appreciated sharing tips with students who are “combining this crazy life of work and study.”

Although her schedule prevents her from participating in clubs and many campus activities, Pshenytska still enjoys connections to students in her area of study by participating in panels and talking one-on-one with her peers.

She calls her favorite part of the classes “those moments when we get into a group chat and meetings” while working on a project. Lately, the group projects have let her mentor other students. Pshenytska is now thinking about how her own career as a manager might develop.

“Always I feel that I am in the best groups. I want to keep in touch with these people after we graduate,” said Pshenytska. “It’s such a great moment to connect, meet, and learn.”

For those contemplating Bellevue College, Pshenytska advises students to use all their resources.

“The college is the best place to gain experience,” she said. “Treat the college as if it is your job, treat every class and every classmate as if they are your teammates at a job. Earlier, I used to tell myself that college was different, that it wasn’t the real world. But now that I have experience at Accenture, I find all the challenges are what we will face at work, especially communication with others.”

Pshenytska said students should take advantage of the opportunity to polish those skills in a supportive environment like Bellevue College. Having those skills will benefit anyone seeking a business or technology career, whether it is with a multinational corporation or a new start-up, she said.