Neha Gupta, a 46-year-old mother of two, is set to achieve a monumental milestone next week as she graduates from the University of Arizona with a master’s degree in business analytics. This accomplishment comes after two decades away from academia, navigating a marital separation, and overcoming financial challenges.
Gupta is among approximately 9,000 students who will receive their degrees at the University of Arizona’s 161st Commencement on May 16.
The decision to return to school as a single mother supporting two teenage daughters required significant bravery. Gupta’s introspection about her own future was sparked when her eldest daughter, Dhaani, was accepted to the University of California San Diego.
Having already earned a master’s degree in journalism and running a business in her native India, Gupta sensed that the rapidly evolving market was leaving her behind. “I still had a business, and I was earning money, but I realized it could use an upgrade,” Gupta explained. “I didn’t know what was going on in the greater market, and when you hear about things like AI and data mining, you don’t really know what to make of that. I knew I needed to improve myself and started looking for courses.”
Gupta chose the Eller College of Management for her studies after discovering their business analytics graduate program. “Everything involves data now,” she noted. “No matter your job, data has an important role to play because you need to understand and explain what is going on with your business.”
As a pioneer student in Eller’s Chandler-based cohort, Gupta took on a mentoring role, enhancing the program’s curriculum and supporting fellow students, particularly those grappling with studying in a nonnative language. Despite facing financial strain, academic challenges, and parental duties, Gupta excelled, finding significant reward in her daughters’ pride.
“We have gone through so much over the past two years, and they saw me suffering,” she shared. “When I started my coursework and saw how much hard work was involved, I was worried. But I wanted to do this, and I even made the dean’s list.”
Invention and Insight
Looking beyond graduation, Gupta is eager to continue her professional journey. She plans to stay connected to the university as a lecturer and expand community initiatives to help others enhance their skills.
Outside academia, Gupta co-founded Playfection, a company that redesigns family entertainment centers to ensure inclusivity for all ages. “These places may be called family entertainment centers, but they aren’t,” Gupta remarked. “Playfection designs spaces where a toddler can explore and a grandparent in a wheelchair can feel included, not just present.”
Gupta is also working on Naked Eye, an AI-driven platform for immersive augmented and virtual reality experiences without the need for headsets. “Imagine walking into a room: You open the door, and suddenly you’re on a beach,” she described. “The platform is powered by AI and creates a spatial illusion so that even in a 500-square-foot room, it feels like you’re walking along an endless beach.”
In addition, Gupta is authoring a memoir titled “Ashes to Armor,” detailing her journey to independence and success. “My eldest daughter told me that I should write my life story so that I could inspire other people,” she said. “I felt like I had not achieved anything in life, but I have met so many women in a bad marriage who tell me they don’t know how to get out.”
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