“Tell Your Story” is a regular series that features one of our Booth community members. In his or her own words, the contributor details their path to Booth and other interesting personal highlights.
Where are you originally from? And what did you do priorto Booth? I grew up in Henan Province, China. Prior to Booth, I was a product developer and manager at UBS Asset Management in Hong Kong. I led cross-functional projects to develop fund products, generated new product ideas, and researched the asset management landscape in China.
Last week, a subset of Booth’s Private Equity Group ventured to the West Coast on the Bay Area Trek, during which the group met with eight firms across a day each in San Francisco and the South Bay (Menlo Park and Palo Alto). The trek culminated in an informal happy hour where our group, host firms, and Bay Area alums in PE were invited to mingle, discuss the industry, reminisce about Booth, and build deeper connections. As the second-year student leader of the trek, I wanted to share my experience and provide some insights into the value of our trip.
Most of what we focus on as The Booth Experience team is, of course, aspects of life within the MBA community, and what it is like to be a student at this business school. Yet, one of the greatest assets of life at Booth is your membership within the broader University of Chicago community. Just as we are fortunate to attend one of the finest business schools in the world, the University is also home to schools of law, medicine, and public policy (and many others) that are among the best in their respective fields. And, while there is an endless stream of activity at the business school, to really deliver on the underlying promise of the university, you have to explore beyond the walls of the Harper Center.
Each year, OUTreach – a student organization at Booth working to advance social and professional opportunities for LGBTQ students and allies – hosts a panel of student speakers in honor of National Coming Out Day, and as part of broader Ally Week programming. The goal of the event is to foster a sense of community within Booth and the broader LGBTQ community, as having allies remains an integral part of shaping a world that is inclusive and encouraging of LGBTQ rights.
At Chicago Booth, diversity is celebrated as an essential ingredient for creating a rich and vibrant environment. One of the ways Booth supports diversity is through the initiatives from the Chicago Africa Business Group (CABG), whose mission is to build a close-knit community for the growing number of Chicago Booth students with a strong interest in issues, events, and activities related to Africa. This group aims to provide professional support, social interactions, and educational opportunities for their members, and one of their top objectives includes promoting awareness of African culture and heritage within the Booth community.
