Scholar Stories: Aaronson Explores Multiple Interests in School of Information
12/7/2022 2:35:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Features
Continuing the series that began in 2016-17, each Wednesday MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Absopure.
By Mishal Charania
Hailing from Israel, swimmer Nadav Aaronson did not know much about many universities in the United States, but he knew about the University of Michigan.
"I was looking for a place that has the best combination of academics and athletics, but academics was something that was very important to me," said Aaronson. "Just from the first recruiting call, the connections I had with the coaches was immediate and just made me really excited to come here."
Now a senior, Aaronson knows coming to Michigan was one of the best decisions he has ever made. His teammates have become some of his best friends, and he knows the bond will continue even after he leaves.
"As time goes by, people leave and new freshmen join every year, so just going through what we go through with training, school and all the obstacles that we have in the way just (make) us very close," said Aaronson. "We just spend so many hours a day in the pool training together, working very hard and just having this shared experience, and doing it with my best friends is something that is very special."
Aaronson was a freshman when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, shutting down the last month of the season. However, he felt the biggest effect during his sophomore year when the team faced shutdowns, quarantines and other obstacles during a year of hybrid learning.
"We were just training and training without really knowing (if) we will have a meet at the end of the year, it was always up in the air," said Aaronson. "I think we were just all in the same mindset that we were trying to get the most out of it regardless of whether we are going to have a meet or not, we want to know that we did everything we can in order to be successful."
Aaronson came to Michigan thinking he wanted to major in computer science. However, at the beginning of his sophomore year, he realized he wanted to major in "something more than just sitting behind a computer and coding," which led him to the School of Information.
"School of Information also has the coding aspects of it, but it's also very business oriented," said Aaronson. "We work a lot with real-world problems which was really intriguing to me. It's a small program, so they're very detailed and student focused so you have a lot of support and help. There's also a class that is designated to find you an internship which was very cool."
In addition to his major in information analysis, he is pursuing a minor in business. He plans to combine the skills he learned from both schools as he plans to join BlackRock in New York working as an investment analyst. He worked at BlackRock over the summer as an intern and is excited to go back in August after spending some time in Israel post-graduation.
"It's a good combination of data analysis that I do in the School of Information, but it's also in the finance world, so we're going to work with traders and see how that world works," said Aaronson.
Even with graduation approaching, Aaronson continues to live in the moment and focus on the time he has left at Michigan.
"I'm just excited to spend the last three, four months here with my best friends," Aaronson said. "I know that even when times are hard, (when) school and swimming is a lot, I'm going to look back at this time and miss it and be so grateful and appreciative for the experience I went through."
Players Mentioned
