Marcia Hu

New York University, Stern School of Business

“Sichuan spice meets New York spunk!”

Hometown: Flushing, New York

Fun Fact About Yourself: I once drove from NYC to Atlanta to rescue and rehome five Shiba Inu dogs, one of which I adopted as my very first pup, Cami!

Undergraduate School and Major: NYU Steinhardt: Media, Culture and Communication

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Owner & President of AE3 Pharmacy in Brooklyn, NY

What excites you the most about living in New York City and how do you see it enhancing your learning experience? Call me biased, but as a New York native, I firmly believe that the five boroughs of New York City make this place the most unique city to pursue an MBA program. Want to see the small business landscape across different cultural and economic backgrounds? Take any train and arrive at an ethnic enclave where some of our 3.1 million immigrants reside. Learning a language? Welcome to the most linguistically diverse city in the world (over 800 languages spoken in NYC)! If you need to disconnect, take a train out East for the beach or up North for the Adirondack mountains. The more time you spend in NYC, the deeper you dive into the subcultures that make up this city, and the more you realize that this place truly is a snapshot of the world around us!

 

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of NYU Stern’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you?  The experiential learning and “DBi (Doing Business in…)” courses offered at NYU Stern really drew me in. One thing I loved about my undergraduate years at NYU was my semester abroad, and I was really excited to learn that I’d continue to have options to learn abroad through Stern’s one or two-week DBi courses. Travel is a huge interest of mine largely due to the way it expands my worldview. Having the opportunity to travel, learn, and bond with my Stern community all at once couldn’t make for a better combination!

What course, club or activity excites you the most at NYU Stern? I can’t wait to begin my MBA journey as a fellow EmpowHER Cohort Member! EmpowHER is a career development program offered through the Stern Center for Sustainable Business that has been created for women in sustainable finance and supported by the Visa Foundation. Having spent the last three years at Send Chinatown Love fundraising for Asian-owned small businesses impacted by the pandemic, I’m eager to continue exploring how finance and sustainable investments can uplift small businesses in local communities. Definitely a pivot for me, but one that I feel all the more equipped to weather alongside my fellow EmpowHER cohort-mates!

What does EQ (Emotional Intelligence) mean to you and when have you seen its value in your career? EQ is taking stock of what’s here and asking myself, “What’s missing?” At the pharmacy, reflecting on what was “missing” pushed us to kick off the first COVID-19 vaccine program in our neighborhood. In leading teams, thinking about voices who were “missing” from the conversation inspired opportunities to pull folks in for a seat at the table. For me, EQ is all about leading with inclusion in mind and empowering people along the way.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: In March 2021, I received some of the best news of my career: my community pharmacy in Sunset Park was approved to administer the COVID-19 vaccine! This was a huge deal! As a small pharmacy servicing thousands of Chinese-speaking patients, we now had the opportunity to combat mRNA misinformation by educating and vaccinating our primarily senior patient population in their mother tongue. To date, we’ve successfully vaccinated 3,000+ community members in Sunset Park and continue to expand our offerings to include even more vaccines.

What do you hope to do after graduation (at this point)? I’m determined to start my career in finance and, after a few years, eventually move into a role specializing in social impact investing.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into NYU Stern’s MBA program? Join the mailing list and sign up for events as soon as they go live! Stern keeps an updated calendar of in-person and virtual events, so definitely sign up for several as they were how I witnessed Stern’s EQ + IQ philosophy in action. Last September, I attended their “Discover Stern” event, which was a personal favorite that allowed me to sit inside a classroom, participate in an elevator pitch writing workshop, and ask TONS of existing MBA students my true and unfiltered questions (“Is an MBA worth it? How confident are you in finding a job post-grad? Are you pivoting careers like I want to, too?”). During these events, I was able to envision my future at Stern, which was critical in expressing “Why Stern?” in my application materials.

DON’T MISS: MEET NYU STERN’S MBA CLASS OF 2025