Honors Faculty Feature: Maria Landekhovskaya

I am originally from Moscow, Russia, and I was a full time MBA student at The Ohio State University. I am the academic director of the Honors Leadership Program as well as a faculty member at the Fishers College of Business. I have been teaching at Ohio State for almost ten years. As an academic director for the Honors Leadership Program, I teach honors seminars that all honors leadership program students take every fall.

When students leave your class, what do you want them to walk away with?  

For my honors students in seminar, the course doesn’t cover material like your typical classroom, so I try to make it based on experience. So, during seminar I take the students on different tours to learn about operations, behind the scenes, resources and more. When students finish my seminar, I want them to understand how the world is huge and how many opportunities exist. That’s why I take my students on the different tours. My key goal is to leave them with the idea to expose yourself to different opportunities in the outside world. 

What advice do you have for Ohio State students and their success in Honors?

I know there is an important requirement for honors students is their GPA. The world is not just GPA. The world is also networking, developing soft skills, meeting people, so it’s not just studying, but studying the life experience. I know there are so many things happening and students are overwhelmed with what to do, where to go, what meetings to attend but I believe if you have the passion about something and there’s an event happening – go for it. You never know where there is an opportunity. Take advantage of every opportunity you can that you’re passionate about.   

What has been a highlight of your teaching engagement experience?

A true highlight of my teaching journey came in 2020 when I received the Pace Setter Award for excellence in teaching undergraduates at Fisher. It’s a prestigious honor, given to just four faculty members each year, and to this day, I’m still humbled by it. What makes it especially meaningful is the mystery of the nomination. When I first found out, my immediate thought was, “Wow, who nominated me?” I still don’t know who it was, and that makes it all the more special. The Pace Setter is usually awarded based on student nominations, which means someone took the time to acknowledge my work in a way that felt authentic and personal—but did it all without a word to me. There’s something uniquely powerful about knowing students appreciate your efforts behind the scenes, and that’s a feeling that stays with me every day.