MBA: What Matters Most to You & Why

In my heart, what matters most to me is being able to leverage my passion for business to create positive, lasting impact for others—especially for those in society who need it most. This deep-seated desire and determination to make the world a better place, stem from my own personal experiences struggling with several learning disabilities.

When I was in elementary school, the entire day would pass by and I could not remember anything. I couldn’t focus or keep track of all my materials, constantly forgetting what the homework was. Or worse, I would complete it, then forget to bring the homework to school. My teachers would call me retarded, lazy, and unmotivated; I was even described as useless, once, by my middle-school science instructor. This lack of belonging was only reinforced at home, where my parents would accuse me of wasting the gift of education and being American—after they crossed oceans as immigrants and spent their life savings for me.

At the next doctor’s visit, I brought up how despite my efforts of working extremely hard at school, simple tasks were still difficult for me to complete. In response, the doctor simply shook his head. He said I was just procrastinating, it’s natural. But it was not. A few years and multiple appointments later at different offices, other doctors were also dismissive. Pointing to the coterie of A’s and B’s on my transcript, they unwilling to listen. They claimed that clearly, I was not struggling: there was no indication of failing grades or even anything below a C. Despite their placations, I still knew something was wrong. My mom murmured that some doctors refused to test me because my grades were too high; “it’s because we’re Asian,” she added. It was not until two decades later, I was finally diagnosed correctly with three learning disabilities: an auditory processing disorder, dyslexia, and ADHD near the end of my high school career. When we fervently thanked the psychiatrist who gave me the right evaluation, she remarked in response “Alice has a heart of gold, and a good head on her shoulders; she’s going to be a great future leader.”

Throughout my journey, I have learned to effectively mask my symptoms by building systems and coping mechanisms that enabled me to succeed, both at school and life in general. My diagnosis was life-changing, in that it armed me with a toolbox of new knowledge and study strategies. Post-diagnosis, I was able to thrive academically; I not only had a pristine line of A’s in college, prior to the pandemic, but found the confidence to challenge myself and take graduate-level business and MBA classes—where the same string of straight A’s applied. When my MBA professor—the head of the Financial Engineering department—invited me to do fintech research with him, he remarked, “you’re going to be a great business leader.”

I smiled, and said, “I’ve heard that before.”

I understand that my parents and teachers were doing the best that they could given the knowledge and circumstances that they had—I feel immensely grateful to receive the proper help that I did. However, I also know that there are millions of other people and children whose disabilities remain undetected and continue to struggle. Hence, what is important to me is to use my knowledge, experiences, and position to empower others around me—especially for vulnerable communities such as those who suffer from cognitive disabilities and/or disorders. I am a true advocate who believes in the good of humanity; through X’s program, science, and ethical leadership, I am confident that we can heal the world together.

In addition to exploring entrepreneurship, and likely prior to creating my own startup, I plan to pivot from management consulting into private equity or venture capital. Especially given that I am carrying out private equity due diligence at Strategy&, the most prestigious and intensive arm of PwC, I would like to develop my business acumen and enough industry knowledge about private equity functions/operations before making my career switch, and taking a risk on something as audacious as founding a startup.

Growing up in Shanghai, I have first-hand observations of how the mental health infrastructure is vastly lacking across countries with developing economies—such as Asia, Africa, and Latin America. From a personal viewpoint, I want to be able to give others the support that I did not have growing up. From a business perspective, the mental-health market is nascent, underpenetrated, and belongs to a rapidly-growing space brewing with opportunity. I plan to combine my education in cognitive science and work experiences in consulting to make mental-healthcare accessible worldwide—specifically by establishing a chain of clinics similar to hospitals with an international presence—like United Health or Kaiser Permanente. Since many people began to realize its importance during the pandemic, mental-health is not something that only affects people with disabilities; it is beneficial to everyone. Similar to the powerful vulnerability fostered in Professor Robbin’s highly acclaimed class, Touchy-Feely, increased access to mental-health resources can help people introspect about themselves and relate to others in a more deeper, authentic, and meaningful way.

The X MBA is the perfect conduit to realize my entrepreneurial visions because of several reasons; located in the heart of cutting-edge innovation in Silicon Valley, X is globally renowned for being a vibrant startup epicenter. In fact, 20% of X MBA class embark on an entrepreneurial pathway immediately post-graduation, which is amongst the highest of any business school in the world. Coming from a small liberal arts college, I’m just starting to dip my toes into the startup ecosystem; most recently, I joined the Venture for America (VFA) fellowship and was a part of the Randal Lewis Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (RLCIE) fellowship for three years. However, I have yet to experience the electrifying enthusiasm that an incubator like StartX has, which is backed by the amazing resources at X Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. Additionally, clubs such as Social Impact Club and Entrepreneur Club would allow me to meet like-minded individuals who want to change the world.

Moreover, as someone who majored in philosophy and cognitive science at the undergraduate level, I would greatly benefit from fortifying my bedrock of foundational business skills at X. X places such an immense value on its innovative experience for its students to engage in hands-on, applied learning; per my conversations with X’s alumni, Jordan Bank and Andrew Gee, courses such as ‘Startup Garage’ and ‘Entreprenurial Ventures’ would not only provide me with a strong, quantitative backbone but also an opportunity to practice them. These courses will also enable me to become an effective yet empathetic leader—able to create a resilient organization and steer it through difficult times. I also see myself actively joining student organizations such as Pride and Women in Management to empower myself and those around me. As someone who is idealistic enough to dream of changing the world, yet driven enough to make it happen—I see myself perfectly fitting into the X’s cohort—ideating alongside my peers for two incredible years and leveraging X support to make our entrepreneurial visions come to fruition.