Meet Washington Foster’s MBA Class of 2019

Yangyang Pan

School: Foster School of Business, University of Washington

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Fearless boundary pusher who enjoys the fast pace of career expansion and multi-dimensionalities of life.

Hometown: Chengdu, China

Fun Fact About Yourself: I have an identical twin sister. Even though we have lived in different cities, we keep bumping into each other’s friends who don’t know our twin status. Once during a snorkeling trip in Hawaii, I was approached by two complete strangers so enthusiastically calling me by my sister’s name. It’s simply amazing to realize how small the world is.

Undergraduate School and Major: 

Sichuan University, B.S. Materials Science and Engineering

University of California Los Angeles, M.S. Materials Science and Engineering

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

EnerG2 Inc – Research Scientist II

Innovation Centre Denmark, Shanghai – clean-tech consultant

American College of Cardiology – Project Manager, China Region

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Late 2010, the startup company I worked for was very close to its very first sales order. However, our sales team could not convince our client that our product exceeded a particular quality specification due to inconsistent performances shown over our client’s testing lab. As a chief scientist, I was brought to communicate directly with our client to identify the problem. What I found out was that due to the very different lab equipment and testing criteria adopted by our labs, much of the superior quality of our product was not effectively shown to our client. Moreover, some communication inefficiency existed due to the cultural difference between our Japanese client and our U.S. home office. I made an effort to mimic our client’s test in our lab and identified the key performance factor that would sell our product under the special circumstances, and reworked a different sales pitch towards our client. In addition, I communicated directly with our client to push for their recognition of our newly submitted quality performance, which cleared the last hurdle before they finally put down a purchase order. One PO may not be significant for an established business, but for the cash-tight startup I worked for at the time, it was huge and mattered to our survival. This project meant so much to both my company and me. I learned the art of persuasion amid different perspectives, and gained more confidence on what I could bring to my company.

Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? When choosing which program to apply or attend, really research and weigh on the program’s location. An optimal business school experience will involve close proximity to your targeted industries for career advancement. For example, Seattle houses numerous innovative tech companies and is a regional bio hub. New York City, on the other hand, has much stronger finance and consulting industry roots. A good program will let you reach industry networks nationwide, but the local presence will put you at a more advantageous position in terms of industry exposure and job hunting.

What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? The Foster School of Business full-time MBA program has a long reputation for excellent career coaching service and maintains top rank in job placement nationwide. My main reason for attending business school is to guide myself to a career change into product management from my early roles in engineering and consulting. While Foster’s strong curriculum will provide me with solid business knowledge like other programs do, its delicate career management component will prepare me to achieve my goal with more well-rounded knowledge about the job market.

What would success look like to you after your first year of business school?  A successful landing of an internship in my targeted product management area and a clearer understanding of corporate finance and accounting which are foreign to me at this point.