[Student Success Story] Global Business Administration Student Yerang Yang
- 글로벌경영학과
- Hit1311
- 2022-06-27
With the goal of discovering individuals that satisfy the criteria of being a “first mover” as well as being a role model for student success, Sungkyunkwan University’s School of Business always tries to find and support students that show creativity and critical thinking, not just excellent grades. With this philosophy in mind, scholarships are awarded to students who actively engage in various on-campus activities inside the Sungkyunkwan community, eagerly participate in challenging research endeavors and diligently fulfill learning achievements.
Yeran Yang actively participated in various non-curricular programs organized by the Department of Global Business Administration. In 2021, she achieved first place in a competition that relied on the cooperation with KK FUND. This opportunity allowed her to demonstrate her excellent qualities as a preliminary consultant. Her favorite phrase is the expression “connecting the dots” which first appeared in a speech given by Steve Jobs.
Let's take a listen to the story of Yeran.
1. Please introduce yourself.
Hello, my name is Yeran Yang, and I joined the Department of Global Business Administration in 2017 and recently graduated in February 2022. It is quite disappointing to have spent the last two years of my 5-year university experience amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, but luckily, I was able to take advantage of the situation to gain various experiences and awards. It is an honor to receive this award and to have the opportunity to participate in this interview.
2. You were granted the Dean's Award for Student Success at the graduation ceremony of 2022. Please give a brief description of this award.
Honestly, I didn't expect to receive an award in my graduation, so it was very unexpected and pleasantly joyful at the same time. This recognition was personally rewarding in the sense that it showed me that my efforts to try out various programs that interested me throughout university had ultimately resulted in high quality results. I am very proud of this feat, and I believe this marks an appreciable conclusion to my university life.
3. You have actively participated in various programs organized by the department administration. What programs did you participate in and what is your most memorable experience?
I frequently visited the university homepage and was able to get informed about the various programs hosted by our school regarding different themes and fields, aimed at a variety of students. Some of the university-led programs that I was able to participate include the Co-Op Field Training Partnership with Seoul Fintech Lab, the Overseas Career Tour Program in Singapore, the I-CORE project in conjunction with LG Chem, the World at your Fingertips Challenge in collaboration with 3M Global, the LOOKO X GBA Student Competition, the Startup CEO Challenge, the Kelley Case Competition, and the KK Fund Competition. There are many intramural competitions, excellent research credit programs for undergraduate students, and courses designed to strengthen employment competency.
The most memorable activity for me was the excellent undergraduate research credit system program. It was very meaningful in the sense that it allowed me dive deep into a field or topic of interest. Through this experience there were limits to research resources accessible as a student and some study results resulted in different values compared to initially expected results. However, I was able to fully utilize all the skills that I had been learning in school for the last 5 years. I also believe that a memorable element of this experience was the process of working together with different team members to refine research results, work on reports, and give feedback on each other’s work.
4. In 2021, you won first place in the KK FUND contest. How would you describe this competition?
The contest was a program based on the collaboration between our university and KK Fund, a venture capital firm based in Singapore. Every contestant participated in a team assigned to research global ESG investment trends. Based on the research, each team had to make an investment proposal and offer recommendations regarding domestic ESG venture capitals or startup companies.
First, our team categorized major countries into either ESG investment “leaders” or “followers” based on the analysis of each nation’s market and ESG trends. Through this process, we were able to derive limitations and difficulties in ESG investments. Based on our research, we made a checklist that could be used as an investment guideline, instead of making our proposal bound to one specific venture capital or startup. The checklist our team developed was centered on analytics including KCGS, GRI, and fund assessment values. As a result of our unique approach, we were able to achieve good results and favorable reviews from the judges at KK Fund.
5. Were there any difficulties while preparing in the contest? How did you overcome such obstacles?
The contest, which lasted for a month and a half, consisted of several feedback meetings, interim reports, and final reports with personnel from KK Fund and other participating teams. The entire process was conducted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The most difficult part to manage was the time management aspect of this project. It was time consuming in the sense that the project lasted a long period of time, and the feedback sessions were held at least once or twice a week. Therefore, our reporting schedule was very tight, which didn't help because all our team members were working on internships and other programs at the same time.
To manage this problem, our team set up a fixed meeting times twice a week: one online session on weekdays and another face-to-face session on weekends. We invested time in a work breakdown structure (WBS) schedule, and flexibly adjusted roles and responsibilities (R&R) among team members according to each member’s personal schedule. This allowed us not only to foster group harmony, but also made it easier for us to conduct meetings in the most efficient way possible.
6. What are your future career goals?
Since I started my career in the consulting industry, as a short-term goal, I plan to develop the necessary competencies within this industry. As a long-term career path, I have not set a specific goal in detail, but I want to pursue my personal interests while developing insights into the world by engaging in activities that interest me at the same time.
7. Lastly, would you like to give some advice for any of your peers in business school?
One of the phrases I really like is the expression ‘connecting the dots’ which appeared in one of Steve Jobs’ iconic speeches. When I look back on the programs I have participated in, there have been times when I was worried because the connection between each activity was lacking, and the direction seemed to be difficult to see. However, I realized how to connect each of those activities, and the greater picture that resulted from them has now become one of my greatest strengths.
Looking at all my classmates, I came to realization that despite everyone being bound to spend the same time on the same campus from admission to graduation, the “picture” each individual draws is different depending on what kind of activities he or she does throughout that same time span. All the activities I went through during my college life have become the building blocks that make up my personal picture, so one piece of advice I want to share is that even seemingly insignificant side activities will become meaningful and valuable in the future.
Of course, it is a great idea to set specific goals and choose activities that match the career path one is pursuing. However, even if the activities do not seem to be related to the desired goal or even when tangible results are not noticeable, I would still recommend students to accumulate as much experience from various fields and industries.
I believe that for any individual to create his or her wonderful personal painting, that person must devote his or her whole heart and soul in each activity. At the time of graduation and after that period, paintings will start showing up at every important milestone in life.