Sofia K

University of California-Berkeley, Haas School of Business

“Breaking barriers, questioning norms: firm believer in tech being the rising tide that raises all.”

Hometown: New Delhi, India

Fun Fact About Yourself: I love using tech to create personalized gifts that make people smile; it’s my way of combining creativity with connection.

Undergraduate School and Major: Manipal Institute of Technology: BTech, Electronics & Communication Engineering

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Goldman Sachs: Software Associate, Deal Execution

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? “Never accept the world as it appears to be. Dare to see it for what it could be.” This philosophy makes Question the Status Quo my defining principle.

Progress always requires seeing beyond “what is” to imagine “what could be,” regardless of whether we’re improving code or challenging the state of the world we see around us today. It’s this mindset that drives me to ask uncomfortable questions: Why do we tolerate systems that frustrate rather than empower? Why does leadership remain homogeneous when diverse teams consistently outperform? Why do we accept barriers that limit brilliant minds from contributing their best work? Why do we not embrace diversity of thought when it clearly leads to better outcomes, every single time?

At Haas, surrounded by others who share this restless curiosity, I’ll continue questioning the assumptions that limit both business innovation and human potential.

Because, after all, the future belongs to those brave enough to imagine it differently.

What excites you about earning your MBA in the Bay Area? The Bay Area uniquely combines two things essential to my growth: radical innovation and radical inclusion. Here, I can be fully myself. No longer do I need to mask my inner self; I can wear the clothes that reflect my identity without fear. This freedom to be authentic isn’t available everywhere; it’s precious and powerful. While this may seem like a small comfort, the ability to be yourself is truly freeing.

Beyond personal freedom, the Bay Area’s tech ecosystem offers unparalleled access to the bleeding edge of technology. The technology and innovation here are ones that can rarely be seen anywhere across the rest of the world. For anyone with an interest in tech, there’s very little else that would be more exciting.

Even more specifically, Berkeley has been the focal point of many innovations in science and technology, and I’m here to watch the many more that will happen. The region’s blend of technical excellence and social consciousness makes it the ideal laboratory for my mission: ensuring technology empowers everyone, especially those traditionally excluded.

What was the key part of Berkeley Haas’ MBA curriculum or programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Berkeley Haas’ Applied Innovation curriculum was the deciding factor in my choice. Unlike case-based learning, these courses embed you directly with Bay Area companies to solve live challenges. For me, I’ve always been a bit more hands-on, helping me grow more from building and iterating than from analyzing what others built.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Berkeley Haas? Q@Haas excites me most because it’s the first professional space where I won’t be the only one. After years in tech and finance constantly code-switching and educating others about trans issues, it offers something I’ve never had: a community that already understands.

I’m looking forward to being a part of Q, connecting with LGBTQ+ alumni who’ve navigated similar paths, and simply existing in a space where my identity isn’t a curiosity or teaching moment. For once, I can focus on learning and growing without the exhausting work of being “the first” or “the only.”

At Q@Haas, I can just be.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: When a new system launched, it was immediately dubbed a “nightmare” with minimal adoption and constant complaints flooding in. Rather than defend what we had, I proposed a solution and quickly workshopped a design to mitigate the tool’s largest pain points. With user buy-in, I led the charge on the redesign, automating workflows and cutting steps significantly.

While this already solved a significant number of issues, we didn’t stop there. We integrated into industry-standard tooling to further automate the system and to lead us to a solution that ended up reducing a workflow that earlier could take hours of hopping between browser windows to a task that could be completed within a matter of minutes.

Our “nightmare” became the division’s gold standard, with the same technology being further used as an example for others to base their designs on. The key insight? Success isn’t just solving the problem you’re given—it’s questioning whether you’re solving the right problem at all. And with some problems? Less can definitely be more.

At this point, what do you hope to do after graduation? My short time at Haas has already expanded my horizons beyond my initial tech PM goals. Through conversations with classmates from diverse backgrounds, I’m discovering exciting intersections I hadn’t considered. While I’m still drawn to product and strategy roles at inclusive tech companies, I’m equally intrigued by finance and entrepreneurship opportunities that address overlooked communities. Haas’ emphasis on questioning the status quo has reinforced that the most meaningful careers often emerge from unexpected combinations of skills, experiences, and passions.

Most importantly, a question posed just days ago has begun reframing my entire approach: “What would you do if you had the opportunity to do anything?” This question has pushed me beyond traditional career paths to imagine bolder possibilities. Regardless of the specific role I choose, I’m committed to ensuring I can drive both business success and equitable access to opportunity. Sometimes, we don’t always need to have all the right answers; it’s just about being brave enough to keep asking the right questions.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Berkeley Haas’ MBA program? Treat the application as practice for your MBA—the self-reflection, networking, and strategic thinking required mirror what you’ll do at Haas. Don’t filter yourself: I worried my identity and interests (sounding rockets!) were “too different,” but authenticity resonates more than conformity.

Connect genuinely with current students. Any conversation you have, you should be able to grow and improve from it so that you can take something more to the next conversation. Be prepared with what you want to know, and make sure it’s something that matters to you. Show specific knowledge of Haas resources and how you’ll contribute. Scores do matter but aren’t the only criteria; even with an exceptional score, what really distinguishes you is demonstrating how your unique experiences will enrich the Haas community.

And above all, understand what the four defining principles mean to you, and tell Haas that. One thing you realize quickly is that the principles have very different meanings for everyone at Berkeley, and each of those is defined by their story. Don’t do yourself the disservice by not taking the time to showcase that.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE UC BERKELEY HAAS MBA CLASS OF 2027

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