Andy Paluch_Promo

Robins School of Business student pairs major with four concentrations

March 27, 2023

Written by Sofiia Mikadze, '24

When Andy Paluch, ’23, embarked on his undergraduate journey at the University of Richmond, he knew right away that he wanted to major in business administration. However, what he didn’t know was that he would end up pursuing four concentrations and assuming leadership positions in two Robins School student organizations.

Originally from Buffalo, N.Y., Paluch came to UR to further explore his academic interests and passion for sports. “I initially had an interest in the management consulting concentration,” he said. From there, Paluch realized there was an overlap between management consulting and management entrepreneurship, and he quickly decided to pursue the latter as well.

“I had the space in my schedule, and I was extremely interested in all these consulting and entrepreneurship classes,” he said. Uncovering his aptitude for analyzing data and performing rigorous calculations, he ended up adding analytics and operations and finance concentrations in his junior year.  

Putting hours of work into classes can be overwhelming but his secret sauce kept him going no matter what. “I think I’m just genuinely interested in my classes. It’s cliché, but when you’re interested in something, it doesn’t seem as much like work. When I’m doing the homework, I’m enjoying it even when it’s challenging,” he shared. 

Aside from his impressive course load, Paluch is actively engaged in extracurricular activities as well. He joined Spider Ventures, Richmond’s first business accelerator, during his freshman year. Since then, he has been heavily involved in the club and eventually became co-president. Having a role model pushed Andy to work hard and make the most out of his experience.

“When I joined, Julian Wadhwa was the vice president of Spider Ventures, which was then called the Entrepreneurship Club. Being able to follow his footsteps has been a truly rewarding experience,” Paluch said. 

Paluch has also maintained his passion for sports and joined the Sports Analytics Club where he serves as the president and helps promote the use of data in sports.

“George Gibson, the current vice president, told me about the club and right away I started joining meetings that were on Zoom back in 2020. I’ve always been a huge sports fan. Growing up in Buffalo we had the Bills and Sabres, and even if they weren’t necessarily good, we always watched. Last spring, the former president of the club was looking for other people interested in serving in an executive role. I had the time, and I was interested, so I became the new president,” he said.

Paluch's experience shows how hard work and tenacity, sparked by an unwavering commitment to one’s passions, leads to success. By putting emphasis on further exploring his interests and hobbies, while immersing himself in the Spider community and finding life-long friends, Paluch will undoubtedly be a role model to younger U R students who are yet to uncover and follow their passions. 

After graduation, he will move to Wisconsin where he will work as data analyst and continue carrying his #SpiderPride for the years to come.