This scholarship will go toward my MBA and help me reach my long-term goal of founding and scaling a health-tech social enterprise aiming to increase the quality of life for people with chronic illnesses and complex medical situations. I have become increasingly aware of challenges in healthcare in America and beyond due to my own chronic illness experience; I am passionate about contributing my technical expertise, plus the business knowledge I gain from an MBA program, to create sustainable solutions. I hope to become a global impact leader and advocate for several communities I am a part of, including women in technology and individuals with invisible disabilities. I would not be where I am today, a Stanford CS graduate with 4 years of software engineering experience (half at Meta), without the support of various communities. It is extremely fulfilling to give back to these groups through mentorship, volunteering, and using my technical skills to create change. I value inclusive communities and will work to break down any perceived barriers between social groups I join so that every student can benefit from the racial, socioeconomic, experiential, ability, and other diversity of our MBA class. Through an academic focus (concentration or major) on DEI in business, I will learn tools and frameworks that I can use in leadership positions in clubs and campus programs to contribute to underrepresented groups in business. I plan on joining and seeking a leadership position in the local chapter of Net Impact, a Healthcare club, and a student-led venture fund. I will approach leadership through a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens and make sure every member feels welcome and that there are equitable opportunities for involvement. I will continue to utilize my professional experience as a software engineer and my participation in various non-profit organizations in tech, like CodePath.org and Girls Who Code, to facilitate introductions. By connecting students from underrepresented backgrounds to people in a wide range of roles in “Big Tech,” non-profits, and startups, I hope to increase access to highly desirable career paths like Product Management in technology and set classmates up for success in post-MBA roles. As a member of the Consortium community, I would love to be introduced to new opportunities, starting locally in the metro area closest to the University of Michigan. In my second year of the MBA program, I want to become a peer leader and advisor to share my experiences and help guide students toward their career and personal goals while sharing resources specific to underrepresented business students. After my MBA, I will continue volunteering at STEM organizations including Girls Who Code and CodePath.org, using business skills to guide larger-scale strategy while taking leadership roles in organizations focused on social impact and diversity. I will be a strong representative of and advocate for The Consortium and Forte as an alum, furthering the mission of diversity and inclusion in my post-MBA role by committing to creating opportunities for underrepresented students, hiring a diverse workforce, and fostering an open and inclusive environment. As a business leader, I will implement practices to combat unconscious bias, such as anonymized hiring, diverse hiring committees, repeated DEI training for all employees, transparent salary sharing, and continuous feedback from employees to identify issues early. My long-term goal is to create my own company in health tech to increase equitable care with a diverse group of leaders dedicated to diversity and inclusion to set the tone for the company.

We make thousands of decisions each day; we determine who we talk to, where we go, and what we do, and most of the time these aren’t conscious choices. Cumulatively, these decisions define who we become and what lives we create for ourselves and others. The ability to choose what impact I make on the world matters enormously to me, though I’ve realized this through the rare experience of living two lives. Some events, or even people, are significant enough to forever divide our lives into a distinct “before” and “after”. I’d love to claim that I initiated a path of self-discovery, but my “before” was surprisingly and heartachingly forced into being. “Before,” I happily planned a weekend trip during my internship following freshman year. Then, a severe virus evolved into a chronic medical condition that changed my life. Looking back, I can mark that weekend as the end of my “before”, but it took me years to mourn the life I had and to accept that I landed on a new path that might be more challenging, but potentially as rewarding. I knew by that Thanksgiving that something wasn’t right. The next interlude included a lot of medical jargon, assorted specialists, dense medical research papers my mom slogged through, conflicting diagnoses, and, years later, acceptance that let me start thinking about my future again, rather than chasing a “before” that was already gone. Unfortunately, chronic illnesses and other invisible disabilities are more common than I would have ever guessed. Spoon theory, a helpful metaphor developed to explain chronic illness, describes the need to ration physical, mental, and emotional energy in a way that I use to guide friends and family to deeper understanding, but if I had to summarize, I’d say I have to ruthlessly prioritize. Some days I choose between a shower in the morning and grabbing breakfast before my first meeting. I had to figure out how to ration for doctors' appointments and new medications while studying and then while working a full-time job, which I was only able to do on reduced hours for two years after school. Now, I’m hyper-aware of the decisions that make up my day; at first, I was only overwhelmed by how many choices seemed to be taken out of my control. Over the years, due to personal adjustment and some level of medical recovery, I have joyfully experienced an increase in the number of decisions that are not predetermined by my health. I can only compare it to the feeling of taking in a deep. clear breath in through your nose again after a rough cold season. It’s as simple as breathing, but it somehow feels so much more significant after living with its absence. I can’t say that I actively appreciate every breath, but I am grateful for the freedom to choose a path that can improve someone’s day. I’ve reached a level of stability that has let me resume moving toward the purpose-driven future I’ve envisioned, starting with graduate school, while keeping in mind how the decisions I make every day are powerful tools at my disposal not to be taken for granted. My long-term goal is to found and scale a health-tech social enterprise focused on increasing equity and the quality of life for people with chronic illnesses and complex medical situations. I have become increasingly aware of challenges in healthcare due to my own disability experience; I am passionate about contributing my technical expertise, plus the business knowledge I gain from my degree, to create sustainable solutions.

We make thousands of decisions each day. We determine who we talk to, where we go, and what we do and most of the time these aren’t conscious choices. Cumulatively, these decisions define who we become and what lives we create for ourselves and others. The ability to choose what impact I make on the world matters enormously to me, though I’ve realized this through the rare experience of living two lives. Some events, or even people, are significant enough to forever divide our lives into a distinct “before” and “after”. I’d love to claim that I initiated a path of self-discovery, but my “before” was surprisingly and heartachingly forced into being. “Before,” I happily planned a weekend trip during my internship following freshman year. Then, in an urgent care center in New Jersey, I was told I had a severe case of mononucleosis that required rest and recovery. Looking back, I mark that weekend as the end of my “before”, but it took me years to mourn the life I had and to accept that I landed on a new path that might be more challenging, but potentially as rewarding. I knew by that Thanksgiving that something wasn’t right. The next interlude included a lot of medical jargon, assorted specialists, dense medical research papers my mom slogged through, conflicting diagnoses, and, years later, acceptance that let me start thinking about my future again, rather than chasing a “before” that was already gone. Unfortunately, chronic illnesses and other invisible disabilities are more common than I would have ever guessed. Spoon theory, a helpful metaphor developed to explain chronic illness, describes the need to ration physical, mental, and emotional energy in a way that I use to guide friends and family to deeper understanding, but if I had to summarize, I’d say I have to ruthlessly prioritize. Some days I choose between a shower in the morning and grabbing breakfast before my first meeting. I had to figure out how to ration for doctors' appointments and new medications while studying and then while working a full-time job, which I was only able to do on reduced hours for two years after school. Now, I’m hyper-aware of the decisions that make up my day; at first, I was only overwhelmed by how many choices seemed to be taken out of my control. Over the years, due to personal adjustment and some level of medical recovery, I have joyfully experienced an increase in the number of decisions that are not predetermined by my health. I can only compare it to the feeling of taking a deep, clear breath through your nose again after a rough cold season. It’s as simple as breathing, but it somehow feels so much more significant after living with its absence. I can’t say that I actively appreciate every breath, but I am grateful for the freedom to choose a path that can improve someone’s day. I’ve reached a level of stability that has let me resume moving toward the purpose-driven future I’ve envisioned, starting with an MBA, while keeping in mind how the decisions I make every day are powerful tools at my disposal not to be taken for granted. My long-term goal is to found and scale a health-tech social enterprise focused on increasing equity and the quality of life for people with chronic illnesses and complex medical situations. I have become increasingly aware of challenges in healthcare due to my own disability experience; I am passionate about contributing my technical expertise, plus the business knowledge I gain from an MBA, to create sustainable solutions.

This scholarship will go toward my MBA and help me reach my long-term goal of founding and scaling a health-tech social enterprise aiming to increase the quality of life for people with chronic illnesses and complex medical situations. I have become increasingly aware of challenges in healthcare in America and beyond due to my own chronic illness experience; I am passionate about contributing my technical expertise, plus the business knowledge I gain from an MBA program, to create sustainable solutions. I hope to become a global impact leader and advocate for several communities I am a part of, including women in technology and individuals with invisible disabilities. I would not be where I am today, a Stanford CS graduate with 4 years of software engineering experience (half at Meta), without the support of various communities. It is extremely fulfilling to give back to these groups through mentorship, volunteering, and using my technical skills to create change. As a woman in tech with an invisible disability and a passion for giving back, I’ve been an active member of many communities dedicated to DEI initiatives. My experience with Girls Who Code in high school exposed me not only to technology but also to inequities in education due to gender and socio-economic backgrounds. In college, the sudden onset of chronic illnesses led me to the disability community on campus and the national Lime Connect Network. To pay it forward, I’ve sought opportunities to mentor others through Girls Who Code, Facebook and Gusto mentorship programs, and CodePath.org. These experiences have inspired me to look for opportunities to engage with and be an ally to those who have different perspectives than my own. Pursuing an MBA degree will also help me continue to build my leadership skills in a business and strategic environment. As a software engineer, I have worked towards leading from within and mentoring others, but I have much to learn when it comes to the leadership skills necessary to manage a large team or a company. I try to stay self-aware through introspection and discussion with peers so that I am always working towards a new goal in a cycle of self-improvement. As a technical lead for projects, I thrive in collaborative and creative environments where everyone feels excited about and is a part of key elements. I believe a good leader typically listens more than she speaks, encourages more than criticizes and focuses on empowering others over seeking personal recognition. I want to be an impactful leader through an emphasis on life-long learning, empathy and patience, and the growth of the people and organizations I lead. After my MBA, I will continue volunteering at organizations including Girls Who Code and CodePath.org, using business skills to guide larger-scale strategy while taking leadership roles in organizations focused on social impact and diversity.