MIS Alumnus Gives Back to Students at Eller

Aakash Kolekar ’22 MIS currently works at Amazon, but his journey has been far from straightforward. Based on his industry contributions, he was recently invited back to the Eller College of Management to talk to students who are taking the same path he once trod.

Growing up as an only child in India in humble conditions, Kolekar’s parents worked hard to ensure he had a strong education.

“One of my mom’s dreams was for me to study abroad,” he says.

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After completing his undergraduate degree, Kolekar contemplated the degree path he should pursue for his master’s. He deliberated between computer science and MIS, but ultimately chose to study MIS because it incorporates various aspects of different fields. Shortly thereafter, he applied and was accepted to the University of Arizona.

A few experiences stood out to him while completing his studies in Tucson. First, he met and networked with a variety of people from diverse backgrounds. He also found the curriculum to be diverse. Not only did he get to take classes like accounting and finance, but he also learned the importance of soft skills, respectfully handling feedback and resolving conflicts.

It wasn’t always easy, though.

“The amount of pressure someone handles within those formative semesters away from family and their comfort zone builds character,” he says. “This makes you resilient.”

That resilience paid off when Kolekar earned a prestigious internship at Amazon in Silicon Valley after his first year at Eller. After his summer internship wrapped up, he received a job offer from the tech giant.

But upon graduating in December 2022, Kolekar’s offer was pushed back six months due to a decline in the economy. Despite interviewing and verbal offers, he ended the year without a job offer because of circumstances outside his control.

So he went home to India, where he applied and interviewed for more positions, including a role at Flexport—a supply chain management company. Shortly after he cleared the interviews, the company froze hiring. Yet when he reached out to employees at Flexport about how he could create value, Kolekar secured a role as a software engineer at the organization.

Kolekar credits Eller for helping him be determined despite the ups and downs of the job search.

“I became very bold throughout my Eller experience,” he says. “I didn’t take no for an answer.”

He has since moved on to Amazon, where he currently serves as a machine learning engineer on the Amazon Rufus team. The company’s Rufus tool reduces shopping uncertainty for customers by recommending products and enhancing the customer experience. Kolekar has made meaningful contributions to impactful features at Amazon, including Rufus and Autocomplete, alongside authoring numerous research papers presented at top conferences and securing patents. 

In August, Kolekar returned to Eller to speak to 200 people, including staff, faculty, and students across the MIS and MBA programs. His goal was not only to share his experiences with incoming students, but also to bust myths about job hunting and career opportunities.

“I wanted to be a bridge for them,” he says.