Diving In

Falcon student-athlete Rona Mejiritski ’22 found commonalities between swimming and financial analysis — then turned it into a career path at Nike. 

“I love how the detailed pieces of financial analysis come together at the end,” says Mejiritski, a member of the women’s swimming and diving team and a Corporate Finance and Accounting major. “Financial analysis uses numbers and measures to tell a story. It gives the reader an understanding of how the company or entity is doing through concrete numbers and figures. Numbers never lie, just like in swimming, times never lie.” 

It was an internship at Nike that allowed Mejiritski to follow a career path that reflects athletics and numbers. Following an internship at Loomis, Sayles & Company, she had her sights set on financial services firms. But a message on the Handshake career platform changed her course.   

“I never thought about corporate finance and what it meant to work in a big company like Nike until a Nike recruiter messaged me,” Mejiritski recalls. “I went through the interview process and fell in love with the company and what it stood for. Everyone I talked to had something unique to say about their positive experience at the company. The energy was truly palpable even behind a Zoom screen.” 

Mejiritski landed an internship focused on global marketplace and control (assessing the company's progress toward its goals). She researched the financial implications of introducing an innovative business model as part of Nike’s business.  

“I’ve always loved research; I love diving deep into new information and reading everything I can about a certain topic,” she says. “We always become better through learning when it comes to academic work but also to life. Learning never ends.” 

As a Nike intern, Mejiritski gained an understanding of business operations, supply chain management and digital expansion goals. And she will keep learning in a full-time role she secured at Nike as a financial analyst after graduation — something she’s excited about. 

“I get to continue working in my dream job at Nike and work for a company that wants to empower athletes and make a difference in the world when it comes to sport.”

JUST DOING IT 

Mejiritski says she always wanted to swim in college — but it had to be on a team that also valued academics and other activities.  

“Bentley had the Women’s Leadership Program and Honors Program on top of the well-rounded business-focused education that I was looking for,” Mejiritski says. “Meeting [head coach] Mary Kay Samko was all I needed to make my final decision. I loved her vision for the program and what she saw for me in terms of goals and aspirations even beyond Bentley.”

Though Mejiritski had her sights set on business, she wasn’t quite sure how that would play out when she arrived on campus. During general business courses, she was drawn to accounting and finance.  

“I decided on a Corporate Finance and Accounting major because I wouldn’t have to choose one discipline over the other,” Mejiritski says “I was right: I found that when I was in my Finance classes I could pull on key concepts that I learned in my Accounting classes and come out with a better understanding of the topic. The two connect all the time.”

She chose a minor in Law, reflecting her admiration for a champion for gender equality.  

“Growing up, I loved reading about Ruth Bader Ginsburg and how she used her voice to help women like her,” Mejiritski says of the former U.S. Supreme Court justice. “Law tells a story of our country’s history — good and bad. It tells us how people were discriminated against based on certain beliefs, prejudices and historical experiences and how that trickled into our legal system.”

STARTING PLATFORM 

Mejiritski was young when her parents signed her up for swim lessons. She was a natural, at home and fearless in the water.  

“At first, my parents just wanted me to be water-safe,” Mejiritski recalls. “Little did they know I was going to be a college athlete from a family that barely got into athletics themselves.” 

While other toddlers were crying at the thought of jumping in the water, Mejiritski’s parents had to hold her by her bathing suit so she wouldn’t jump in before the lesson began. She later joined a local swimming club and high school team before becoming a Bentley student-athlete: her events are butterfly and freestyle. Swimming competitively for 12 years has brought “a lot of dry skin and damaged hair” but also life lessons. 

"Swimming taught me how to compete and set goals to improve, and what I wanted to accomplish,” Mejiritski says. “It also taught me everything when it comes to time management, including setting a structured schedule and a dedicated time to take a break from school and focus on what I love. I learned how to be resourceful.” 

Mejiritski says that being a team player has been central to her swimming career. “Even though swimming is an individual sport, we are all still swimming together as part of a team at the end of the day. Our swims count towards the team score so if we don’t keep each other going, we could lose as a team. The same thing applies to school — we need to keep each other focused if we are ever to complete our goals and be successful.”