Doris Yuan

University of California Berkeley, Haas School of Business

“The choice is in between success and failure; it’s between choosing risk and striving for greatness, and being certain of mediocrity.”

Hometown: New York City, NY

Fun Fact About Yourself: 3rd degree Tae Kwon Do blackbelt (1st elected female instructor)

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Virginia; Major: Commerce

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Point Avenue, Deputy General Manager

Berkeley Haas is founded on four Defining Leadership Principles: Question the Status Quo, Confidence Without Attitude, Students Always, and Beyond Yourself. Which principle resonates most with you and why? Question the Status Quo resonates the most with me. Having left consulting – what many would label as a proven path – I spent two years building up an EdTech startup in Thailand and just trying to keep the lights on every day. This was challenging. This was risky. But, this was when I felt like I made the biggest impact. I took risks and challenged the status quo. I was rewarded with an opportunity to lead and make a difference in emerging markets.

What has been your first impression of the Haas MBA students and alumni you’ve met so far. Tell us your best Haas story so far. Every school brags about culture and inclusion. Haasies live it. Never have I ever felt so heard, included, and appreciated in every conversation I’ve had and every team experience I’ve been a part of. It’s humbling. It’s the Haas story.

Aside from classmates and the Defining Leadership Principles, what was the key part of Berkeley Haas’ MBA curriculum programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Haas and the Consortium made it financially possible for me to be the first in my family to pursue a graduate degree. I’ll always be grateful for this entry ticket.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Berkeley Haas? Preparatory courses such as Communicating in Business School excite me the most because I was able to quickly meet my classmates and become vulnerable with them. Great start to my experience!

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Successfully led the market entry of and built up an EdTech startup in Thailand, a complete foreign territory for me.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point and what do you hope to do after graduation? Getting an MBA has always been on the horizon for me, it’s just a matter of when. This is the best time because I’ve clearly learned about the gaps in my knowledge and leadership and I’m ready to dedicate two years to self-growth and community building.

Post-graduation, I’ll be going further in EdTech and expand my own social enterprise.

What is one thing you have recently read, watched, or listened to that you would highly recommend to prospective MBAs? Why? I highly recommend the book Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg. It offers great perspective into the soft skills MBAs must master to succeed in dynamic business environments.

What other MBA programs did you apply to?

HBS

GSB

Kellogg

Yale SOM

Michigan Ross

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Berkeley Haas’ MBA program? Connect with as many of your prospective classmates as possible and do the same at other programs. Having your own comparison is the most effective and pragmatic way to determine fit.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE BERKELEY HAAS MBA CLASS OF 2024