Biography: Maria Bozhkova is a rising junior international student of Business Economics from Bulgaria. Driven, motivated, and ambitious, she is a stellar honors student, part of the William F. Sharpe Fellowship Program and the UC Investments Academy. She has experience in the financial industry, ranging from start-up companies to multi-million dollar corporations. Outside of academics, she is actively involved on campus with the student-led hedge fund club Bruin Capital Management, focusing on the AI sector. Maria has relevant leadership experience in business clubs at UCLA and has strong interests in value investing, data optimization, and innovation.

 

Future Plans: Maria sees herself working in a motivating and dynamic environment and wants to pursue a career in investment banking. Next summer, Maria will be an investment banking analyst in the healthcare sector at Citi in their New York office. She is looking forward to exploring her passion, as well as working and learning among one of the best teams in the world in that respective field. She has high ambitions for the future and wants to be a female leader in the industry.

 

What this scholarship means to me: I am beyond grateful to be receiving recognition for my academic achievements at UCLA with the award of Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship fund. With this award, I feel honored for my academic accomplishments and have faith in my future success and professional development. Being an international student, the Harold R. Mortenson scholarship gives me the confidence that I have served as a good example and have been a leader on campus. This scholarship will allow me to have more financial freedom and be able to allocate more time towards my professional development and personal growth. It will help alleviate any financial uncertainty I am experiencing. I appreciate and value this scholarship as it is the highest recognition of my academic strengths, and it is of great support to my wellbeing and education in UCLA.