Yanzhou Zhang

Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College

“Accountable person who my friends can always rely on.”

Hometown: Suzhou, China

Fun Fact About Yourself: Eating delicious food is the last thing I would ever give up and working out in the gym promises me try whatever food I want. But if you want to beat me in the gym, just try crunches. I can do ZERO. Seriously, ZERO!

Undergraduate School and Major: Nanjing Audit University, Auditing

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: PwC, Manager

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: As a senior associate, I cooperated on analyzing client’s needs and co-presented with our Director of Strategy to the CEO of one of China’s leading real estate companies, winning a billion-dollar project.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Supportive. Although the school just started, admitted students from China have already known each other for half a year. We went out for a short trip in June and it was fantastic, with everyone being nice, supportive, and easy-going. Also, second-year students (T’20s) are very helpful. We have a Groupme chat and they answered instantly to questions raised by us T’21s as we prepared for our MBA life.

What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? The close and collaborative community. I want to make lifelong friends here at Tuck, friends whom I can pick up a phone to call and talk about anything.

What aspect of the school’s culture or values resonates most with you and why? Tuckies are willing to invest in each other with their knowledge, time, and resources. I grew up in a big family where my parents and their siblings help each other all the time. Influenced by my parents, I too became a person who is eager to help others with work or personal matters. Tuck’s culture matches perfectly for me.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? The Tuck Pride Club

What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process? “If you were not to be admitted, what do you think would be the reasons?”

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? In my past work, I learned a lot about areas such as accounting, auditing, internal controls, and business operations in different industries. I wanted to pursue an MBA to develop my knowledge of other functions that I had little exposure to so that I can create more value in the business world and better make strategic business decisions. In addition, although I’ve led teams and worked with many people of different levels and career backgrounds, I look forward to more formal and systematic leadership training and working with people from more diverse cultural backgrounds.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Kellogg, Fuqua, Darden

How did you determine your fit at various schools? The people and career resources of the school were the factors that matter most to me when evaluating schools. I learned about the people through reaching out to current students and alumni. By reading school employment reports and talking to alumni who are currently working for companies that interested me, I was able to evaluate whether a school could help me achieve my career goal.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? The process of self-recognition as an LGBT person enhanced my empathy and helped me become more inclusive to people from different backgrounds.

Where do you see yourself in ten years? Aside from becoming a leader who can lead teams to success in the business world, I also see myself involved in social impact initiatives to help those who are in need and increase the social inclusion of minorities.

SEE THE ENTIRE MEET THE CLASS OF 2021 SERIES