Haoting Pan

MIT, Sloan School of Management

“An engineer-minded operations management student passionate about mobility, who loves Chinese calligraphy and cooking.”

Hometown: Suzhou, China

Fun Fact About Yourself:

If I wasn’t working in engineering, I would love to open a Chinese restaurant.

I used to be an amateur fashion model.

I have a Chinese calligraphy store on Etsy.

Undergraduate School and Major: University of California at Davis, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Project Engineer, Lea + Elliott, Inc.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of MIT Sloan’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? MIT Sloan’s Leaders for Global Operations has a tight-knit alumni network who constantly interact, mentor, guide us and provide us with fun projects (see below about ops lab).

LGO offers us the opportunity to intern for six months at a partner company. I feel an extended period of exposure to an operations/ management role ensures adequate training, integration into the team, and better positions us to make an impact during our internship.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at MIT Sloan? SWIM (Sloan Women in Management). I am passionate about supporting and learning from women in STEM and women in management.

Action Learning Labs are one of MIT Sloan’s biggest attractions. Which lab interests you most? How does it fit with your interests? Operations Lab is typically organized by a committee of LGO students, and we get to design and participate in the projects that are of interest to us. We may be working with some really cool companies this year!

When you think of MIT, what are the first things that come to mind? How have your experiences with the Sloan program thus far reinforced or upended these early impressions? I had thought LGOs would be a bunch of over-achiever nerds. We surely are, but LGOs are also the most caring and relatable group of people I have ever studied/worked/played/lived with.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I drafted the speed limit specifications for an underground tunnel system designed for autonomous vehicles. Autonomous vehicles react faster than humans in blind spots, and I think we shouldn’t be restricted by traditional roadway speed limits in this transit system. I proposed using a unique set of standards and sped up the system by 10%. I was able to combine my knowledge in roadway design and autonomous technology development – and I’d like to think that I made an impact on drive development by contributing to the creation of more efficient mobility systems.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Kellogg MMM, HBS, Booth, Haas, Wharton, Yale SOM

What do you hope to do after graduation (at this point)?  Operations management in manufacturing or program management in tech.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into MIT Sloan’s MBA program? Really spend time reflecting on how your past experiences shaped you into who you are today and how this motivates you.