Student Profile

Name: Darren Olson Business Option: Finance Anticipated Graduation: Summer 2007

Darren Olson is an inspiration to us all. This husband and father of two somehow manages to balance home life, an adjunct faculty position and a full time course load in the Finance Program. Where does Darren find his inspiration and why did he choose to come to Portland State?

“I realized shortly after the birth of my first child that I was not very marketable without a bachelor’s degree.

I chose to come to Portland State’s School of Business because of its outstanding reputation for community engagement. There was virtually no other university that afforded me the opportunity to study finance and put those theories to practice in the financial heart of one of America’s most livable cities. I truly appreciate the reality of our program, the fact that we deal in as much practice as we do theory, and that we put our knowledge to work in our community.”

With one year left in the program, Darren is poised to complete his degree and move on towards his short term goal of becoming a financial analyst. Down the road Darren hopes to attend medical school and combine his love of medicine and finance.

But, as Darren says, “For the time being we’re focused on diapers, education and making ends meet.” We are proud to have Darren as a student in our college and look forward to helping him reach all of his goals!