Ray Liu
Several years ago, I started my wedding speech with “I am a lucky man,” where I talked about how lucky I was to have my wife, family and friends around. After one of the best two-year periods in my life, now I have to say I am way luckier than I thought back then. In addition to all of the exciting journeys I expected from Booth, the people here really made it all different from any part of my life so far. The brilliant faculty, super-smart-but-also-super-nice classmates, and the alumni with the pay-it-forward spirit combined brought the pleasant surprises one after another.
A “side-effect” of being immersed within these people is that the way I think was changed, in a subtle but profound way. I could not tell how much I have learned and how much my thinking has been changed until I read some of the notes and plans I wrote for a “billion dollar” startup idea long time ago. Now I could easily tell that is something I would never start or invest.
When I interviewed candidates as an admission fellow, I always ask them to imagine it is graduation time and how would you define if you had a successful two-years or not. Now I think it is time for my answers: my two-years was a successful one because I became better myself both personally and professionally, because I got to know really amazing people and made good friends, and because I managed to take care of my family and we had a lot of fun together.
Look into the future, I am not quite sure if I will keep climbing the corporate ladder or start a new venture soon. What I do know is I am excited for everything coming next, because either way, it will be one hell of a ride. I’m indeed a very lucky man.
