Interview with Hua Yang

February 2024

Hi! I'm Hua Yang, an international student pursuing a master’s in Business Analytics with an anticipated graduation date of August 2024. Before embarking on my academic pursuits at Cal Poly, I completed my undergraduate studies at Peking University and gained valuable experience as a Margin Trading Specialist at Caida Securities Company. My passion lies in fusing business insights with technical expertise, and recently, I've been particularly fascinated by the rapid development of big data.

Currently, I serve as a Graduate Student Assistant at the TOM Department and I am a Teacher Assistant for GBA 5140, Statistics Essentials for Business Analytics. My academic journey includes exciting collaborations with Professor Mohammad Salehan on engaging Natural Language Processing (NLP) projects, encompassing recommendation systems and optimization modeling. I am also a member of the Student Managed Investment Fund, actively participating in the CFA Society Orange County 2023 Request for Proposal competition.

Furthermore, I am honored to be a mentor in The CPP Bronco Grad Buddies Team, guiding a group of five mentees on their academic and career paths. I started as a mentee and was given advice that has helped me in the program, so after one-year academic journey, I want to help people like me.

The most cherished aspect of the MSBA program, for me, has been the opportunity to interact with a multitude of experienced professors. I've learned invaluable lessons from these professors, who generously share their knowledge and expertise.

Advice

I would strongly recommend identifying your passions early on and actively seeking out like-minded peers. Embrace every opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and nurture your curiosity. Building a strong network and learning from others will undoubtedly enrich your academic journey.