Zuzanna Bijoch, an international fashion model and finance student, was recently named valedictorian of the Class of 2023 at Columbia University School of General Studies (GS). On Monday, May 15, she will address the Class of 2023 at the School’s graduation ceremony.
Born in Katowice, Poland, Bijoch worked as a model in the high-fashion industry represented by Next Model Management, and was consistently ranked as one of the top models in the world before enrolling at Columbia University. Throughout her career, she participated in all of the major fashion weeks including New York, Paris, Milan, and London, walking for the likes of Prada, Chanel, Gucci, Valentino, and countless others. She was also featured on the covers of various editions of Vogue magazine, Harper's Bazaar, and Elle, and was a guest judge on Poland’s Top Model. She received the Poland Woman of the Year award, presented by Glamour magazine in Poland, and has been featured regularly on Polish television channels. Bijoch used her experiences growing up in the fashion industry to write and publish her novel Modelka.
Bijoch has always been interested in finance and thus decided to pursue a degree in financial economics. At Columbia, she worked as a research assistant in Columbia’s Department of Economics. She also won a Romine Prize from the same department for her seminar paper titled “The Role of Activist Ownership and Management Sentiment in Corporate Spin-off Value Creation,” and was on the winning team in the IIG Investment Case Competition sponsored by Citadel. She has also held leadership roles as a director of the business division at the Columbia Economic Society and as a board member of the Lion Fund, a student-run hedge fund.
Bijoch was named to the Dean’s List, and is a member of the GS Honor Society and Phi Beta Kappa. She graduates summa cum laude with a degree in financial economics. After graduation, she will join BDT&MSD Partners in New York City.
The 2023 GS Class Day ceremony will take place on Monday, May 15 on Columbia’s Morningside Heights campus. A livestream of the ceremony will begin at 7:45 a.m.
About Columbia University School of General Studies
The Columbia University School of General Studies (GS), founded in 1947, is the premier liberal arts college in the United States for nontraditional students seeking a traditional undergraduate Ivy League education. GS students take the same courses, study with the same faculty, and earn the same degree as all undergraduates at Columbia University.
