‘I Left Everything Behind’: How One International Student Rebuilt His Life — And Career — In The U.S. With An MBA

“Immigrants,” Congressman Sean Casten once said, “are people who leave behind their roots, culture, language, and family to start a new life in America, and this entrepreneurial spirit is what built this great country.”

Those words have stayed with Yuya Matsushita ever since he met the Illinois representative in Chicago. For Matsushita, it’s not just a memorable line — it’s a reflection of his own life.

In his early 30s, Matsushita quit a steady job at a respected Japanese trading company, walked away from family and familiarity, and moved to the United States with no income, limited English, and a bold plan: earn an MBA, launch a career, and build a new life.

“I left everything behind — my job, my language, my country,” he says. “But I have no regrets. This was the challenge I needed to grow.”

A SEED PLANTED IN SINGAPORE

Matsushita was first introduced to the concept of an MBA in 2010 while working for a Japanese trading company in Singapore. A U.S.-educated colleague explained the degree and its career implications — a revelation for Matsushita, who had never even heard of an MBA before.

“He showed me a new path in life,” he recalls. “It stayed in my mind.”

But with heavy travel to China, Japan, and throughout Southeast Asia, Matsushita had no time to act on the idea. Five years later, he did.

In 2015, he made a dramatic life change: he resigned from his job, moved to Seattle, and enrolled in a business certificate program at the University of Washington.

“I had no income, no job, and no guarantee of what came next,” he says. “But I knew I had to try.”

A FORK IN THE ROAD 

While studying in Seattle, Matsushita was accepted into the MBA program at the University of Hong Kong, in the Columbia Business School track — a prestigious program offering global exposure through partnerships with LBS, Fudan, and Columbia.

At nearly the same time, he received a rare offer: a job from a Japanese food trading company in the U.S. — with visa sponsorship. “Companies seldom sponsor visas,” he says. “It was a rare and valuable opportunity.”

He was torn. Pursue an elite MBA in Asia, or stay in the U.S. to start a new career — with the hope of earning an MBA later? He chose to stay.

“I believed I could achieve both: build a career in the U.S. and earn my MBA at the same time.”

A WEST COAST SHIFT — AND A NEW GOAL

The job took him to Chicago, where he worked in marketing and procurement. Then came the pandemic, and with it, a transfer to Los Angeles. Once things stabilized, Matsushita returned to his deferred dream: business school.

He researched programs across Southern California, prioritizing flexibility. “If I couldn’t attend class due to work, the MBA would be meaningless,” he says.

UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business emerged as the perfect fit: its part-time MBA ran on weeknights and offered a highly engaged, collaborative learning environment.

He enrolled in 2021 and graduated in 2024.

LANGUAGE BARRIERS, CULTURAL SHIFTS — AND BREAKTHROUGHS

From the outset, Matsushita was challenged — not just by the curriculum, but by the culture.

He was the only Japanese student in his class, and one of the few non-native English speakers. “In the first class, microeconomics, the professor explained everything — and everyone got it except me,” he says. “I went home and rewatched the lecture two or three times just to keep up.”

The program opened with an immersive multi-day residential at a hotel in Irvine — filled with case discussions, team projects, and rapid-fire collaboration. “In Japan, we mostly listen in class,” he says. “But here, it was all discussion. I struggled to speak. I was very quiet at first.”

Matsushita worried that his teammates might view him as a burden. “So I focused on what I could do — math, data analysis, accounting, finance — the things that didn’t require perfect English. That’s how I made my contribution.”

Over time, he not only kept pace — he accelerated. He joined a startup pitch competition, entered UCI’s prestigious New Venture Competition, and presented a business idea to actual venture capitalists. “Those are things I never imagined I’d do,” he says. “Only the MBA gave me that chance.”

Despite entering the program with one of the lower academic standings, he graduated in the top 20% of his class and was named an MBA ambassador.

“I worked two, three, even five times harder than everyone else,” he says. “I always remembered to thank my classmates, professors, and teammates who supported me.”

CLOSING STRONG — AND OPENING A NEW CHAPTER

The program ended with a closing residential retreat at Lake Arrowhead — a full-circle moment. Surrounded by classmates who once didn’t know what to make of him, Matsushita gave a closing speech. “The professor told us, ‘You are now MBAs. People will look at you differently,’” he says. “It was one of the proudest moments of my life.”

Shortly after graduation in June 2024, Matsushita transitioned into a new role: Corporate Planning Manager at another Japanese food company in California. In this new position, he works with consulting firms to design optimal business operations and develop long-term strategy.

“I use what I learned in my MBA every day — in finance, strategy, operations, and communication,” he says. “It’s demanding, but rewarding.”

‘NO EXCUSES’

Matsushita still remembers something the Merage dean said on day one: “There are a million excuses not to pursue an MBA — work, family, money, timing. But you’re here because you didn’t make excuses.”

That’s a message he now shares with others — especially in Japan, where MBAs remain rare, and comfort zones hard to leave.

“It’s easy to stay in the same job for 20 or 30 years,” he says. “But Japan needs people with international skills and networks. We need to look outside. We need to grow.”

Matsushita never seriously considered Europe. The U.S. was always his target. “If I wanted to improve my English and do business globally, this was the place,” he says.

A LIFE REBUILT

Even with political and economic uncertainty, Matsushita is committed to contributing to his adopted country.

“I just do my job and try to give back,” he says. “That’s how I move forward.”

Looking back, he sees that 2015 leap — when he quit his job, left his country, and moved to Seattle — as the defining decision of his life.

And he still holds on to the words of Congressman Sean Casten:

“Immigrants are people who leave behind their roots, culture, language, and family to start a new life in America, and this entrepreneurial spirit is what built this great country.”

“That quote is exactly me,” Matsushita says. “That quote is my life.”

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