Alumni Spotlight: Olesya Kuchma '13
Cheyenne Shaffer - June 9, 2021
Alumna-turned-Business-faculty member Olesya Kuchma majored in chemistry with a minor in biology. Today, she manages supply chain, distribution and production for a Nutraceutical company. She tells us about her impressive stint as a student athlete, how she returned to her alma mater to teach, and what the “POWER of small” means to her.
Q: What activities were you involved in outside the classroom?
Outside the classroom, I was involved with athletics. I was a number one tennis player on the Rosemont College Women's Tennis team, and I was captain for 3 years. I've earned many honors including Colonial States Athletic Conference weekly honor roll (2009-2013), Honors player of the week (2009-2013), All-conference Honorable Mention (2011), All-Academic team Honors (2011), Rosemont College Scholar-Athlete Award, CSAC Women’s tennis Honors (2012 season). I was also the Vice President of the Graduating Class and won the prestigious Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities Award in 2013.
Q: What role did your education at Rosemont play in preparing you for a career?
A: After graduating with a bachelor's degree, I immediately proceeded to earn an MBA from Rosemont, which led me to pursue a Doctorate in Health Sciences.
Q: Can you describe your career path since graduation?
A: My career path since graduation has been truly rewarding. Currently I manage the supply chain, distribution and production for a Nutraceutical company called Acumen Health Holdings. The products I work with are developed specifically for patients who are treated by ophthalmologists, optometrists, and orthopedic surgeons. I work directly with the company's executives and chief officers on any new product launches and production needs for sales. My work requires knowledge of the FDA requirements and regulations, as well as of the raw ingredients and components, and strong logistics comprehension. Supply Chain is a hot, fast-growing field, especially in healthcare, and I enjoy the pressures, dependability and demands of my career.
Q: How did you come to join the Rosemont faculty, and what has it been like to teach at the place where you were also a student?
A: After I completed my MBA, I stayed in touch with the Business program director at Rosemont who has been following my career. A course in business politics and communication has opened in the program, and the director at Rosemont thought because of my fast-growing career post-graduation that I would be the perfect candidate. Having taken this class myself, I knew exactly what students would want to learn and adopt to use in their own organizations.
Q: As you know, our tagline is "the POWER of small." What does that phrase mean to you?
A: "the POWER of small" to me means the great ability to create lifelong friendships and connections to become part of something big. It provides the togetherness that the college stands for. Rosemont's tagline is exactly what I have experienced when I came back to teach at Rosemont. Because of our small yet strong community, I can stay within the Rosemont family, which is what the tagline represents