Meet the MBA Class of 2023: Phyo Shwe Yee Win, Wharton School

Phyo Shwe Yee Win

The Wharton School, the Lauder Institute

“I’m a not-so-serious runner and amateur muffin baker with a resting smiling face.”

Hometown: Yangon, Myanmar

Fun Fact About Yourself: I am very heat tolerant and survived summer in Philly without relying on the A/C.

Undergraduate School and Major: BA in Mathematical Economic Analysis and Master of Accounting, both at Rice University

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Analyst at NERA Economic Consulting

What word best describes the Wharton MBA students and alumni you’ve met so far and why? Genuine. Many Wharton MBA students and alumni that I’ve met so far are very approachable. It has been a pleasure to make authentic connections with them and get to know their unique true selves.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of the Wharton School’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Since my academic background and work experience before Wharton was mostly in economics, accounting, and finance, I was looking for a business school that would help me develop a more well-rounded business acumen. One key attraction for me was that Wharton is an all-around great business school with strengths in different areas including marketing, analytics, management, and operations. The combination of fixed and flexible core curriculum helps me tailor my MBA education to specific areas where I want to develop my strengths.

What course, club, or activity excites you the most at the Wharton School? Currently, I am loving the Innovation class. We participate in an idea tournament and progress from elevator pitches to investor presentations in six weeks. I had not considered myself a super creative person, but the class has taught me various triggers to identify opportunities for business model innovation. It is a class for which I look forward to doing the homework!

When you think of the Wharton School, what is the first word that comes to mind? Why? Big. There are many students here, so you never stop meeting new people. And Wharton facilitates developing new connections by having many structured socializing activities such as cluster and cohort events, and affinity-group families.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I am proud of my contribution to a case with a challenging two-week timeline where I coached two new hires on their first client project at the firm. We ended up pulling several late nights and a long weekend in the office, but I am glad that my mentees learned critical skills from this project that would serve them well in the future.

How did COVID-19 change your perspective on your career and your life in general? After having the privilege of working from home for over a year, I value flexibility in working location and hours a lot more. I also realized the importance of being geographically close to family. When the pandemic hit, my parents were living in Myanmar and I was in New York City. I’d have very much cherished the ability to spend time with my family during the pandemic.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point and what do you hope to do after graduation? I am pursuing an MBA at this point because I wanted to expand my network and make new friendships, as well as to take a break from the professional world to spend some time exploring different industries. I’m currently exploring operator roles in tech-enabled firms.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Columbia Business School, Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, Yale SOM

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into the Wharton School’s MBA program? I’d say talk to as many alumni and current students as possible. I learned so much from these discussions about what makes Wharton unique and what experiences at Wharton would be a good fit for me, which helped me tailor a more personal application.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE WHARTON SCHOOL’S MBA CLASS OF 2023

 

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