Biliana Kostova, B.S. ’08
Business Administration, International Business
The University of Baltimore was the natural choice for Biliana Kostova, B.S. ’08. For her, flexible class offerings were ideal, but as she explained she considered other factors in choosing UBalt.
“UBalt had great reviews,” said Kostova. “It was close to home and I loved the midtown location. There are a lot of places for students to get together and work or socialize, coffee houses, restaurants and of course the UBalt Student Center. It was the perfect fit.”
Like so many of our alumni, she shared her fondest UBalt memory—the time spent with her fellow students and her favorite professor, Alan Randolph.
“Professor Randolph is a great mentor with great teaching skills,” reflected Kostova. “My fondest memory of UBalt is when I got to travel abroad to London with the International Business Practicum course. The learning experience gained from this class was very unique, as students got the opportunity to travel abroad and get the real-life feel of how international business works. Professor Randolph was there every step of the way, and he worked with the sponsor company’s advisers and us, in order to find the best possible ways for marketing their product in the UK. It also brought our group much closer together, and we have kept in touch to this date.”
She discovered that studying abroad in the global practicum class was also an advantage that correlated with her interest in working for a global company.
While attending UBalt, Kostova was hired into her current position at ICON Development Solutions, LLC and she credits finding her job with the networking possibilities available at UBalt. She also adds how helpful her program of study has been to her career. “Majoring in international business has helped my career tremendously. I took a lot of marketing, international economics and international business courses, which has set my mind to think globally and to always consider the culture differences we face.”
One of the things about her current position Kostova truly enjoys is the teamwork. As she explains, “I love that I am part of such a great team that really makes a difference within our organization. The fact that I am part of a team of really hard-working individuals makes me want to be even better every day. “ In her role as project coordinator Kostova’s responsibilities at ICON include: planning and coordinating assigned single service stand-alone projects to ensure integration, coordination and consistency of processes throughout a project life-cycle; set up, organize, track and maintain clinical study and project documentation.
Personally and professionally Kostova has set herself solid goals in the coming year. She is planning on attending graduate school and is working to become a project manager. She is looking forward to advancing in her position and she adds, “I like the fact that what we do may actually have an impact in saving people’s lives.”
This Merrick School of Business alumni profile was added in February 2013.