Between Two Worlds

On first impression, the connection between boxing and industrial engineering is not obvious.  While boxing conjures up associations with raw energy and flexed muscles, industrial engineering recalls drawn-out processes, neon-lit offices, and long meetings. Despite the marked differences, Or Zuckerman, a student in the Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management at the Technion and a Thai boxer, finds common ground between the two pursuits, mainly in approach. Her experience as an athlete helped her in her studies and vice-versa. “The same mantra guides me in both areas,” she said. “You don’t give up even when things are hard, you don’t run away from struggles; you get up and fight all over again.”

Or Zuckerman

Zuckerman began practicing martial arts as a 10-year-old, encouraged by her father. She went along with the idea out of her admiration for him, and only after he was killed in a car accident when she was 18, did she discover that her father wanted her to be able to defend herself (she was small). She started with karate, and then moved on to taekwondo and finally found her place in Thai boxing. “I was looking for an aggressive sport that would allow me to compete – and that’s where it all came together.”

In contrast to her early start in sports, she only discovered her interest in industrial engineering and management after finishing her army service, when she was working as a product coordinator at a dental implant company. “I was a dental consultant in the army, and after I was released, I started working in dental design using computer imaging technology, creating unique products for each customer. As a coordinator, I worked with the manufacturing supervision team and the engineering department. I became interested in the organization of the interface and connections between the different divisions in the company and I realized that that’s what I wanted to do.”

During her studies, she became particularly interested in courses in finance and statistics, but the combination of intensive training with her engineering studies meant she had to make compromises. “The load was challenging, and I didn’t want to give up on the things that were important to me – my studies and my training – so I mostly made compromises in my social life. I have friends from school, but I had to give up on the parties and going out in the evenings.”

The final exam for her degree will take place at the end of the month, and Zuckerman makes it clear she has not yet thought about what will happen next. “I know that after the exam I’ll go and train in the evening. I’m thinking about continuing my studies, but right now I’m also focusing on my work both inside and outside the institute.”

Zuckerman has an important message for all those just starting their graduate studies, one that she would have liked to hear when she was starting out: “You have to understand that everyone has a hard time. It’s not only you that doesn’t understand – most of the students in the room don’t understand either and it’s okay to find things difficult at the beginning. Take it all in proportion and keep going. In the end you’ll finish your degree.”