Here at Haas

H@H: Ep 56 - Graham Haydon sits down with Paulina Lee to share his journey from West Point to Haas. Graham also has a masters in Energy Policy & Climate and shares a defining moment in his army career that solidified his passion for clean tech energy.

How Graham’s military experience helps ground him during stressful times:

“I think when it comes to dealing with these deadlines and dealing with classwork and dealing with group projects, I think my benefit is that, my first job was waking up and wondering if any of my friends had got shot down in Afghanistan overnight. And so anything that is less stressful than that is like a very good day for me. And that is my barometer of how stressful a day is.”

Graham’s advice for incoming Haasies:

“Be your authentic self and come with your experiences and be able to share them and relate to people. And then second advice I have for anyone coming to Haas: I would just say have fun. Haas is a great place to be and if you're lucky enough to come here, it should be a chance for you to explore and try new things. So just have fun with it.”

Resource Links

• UC Launch
• BIS - Berkeley Innovation Solutions
• Berkeley Haas Veterans Club
• Ghost Road

H@H: Ep 55 – On this month’s edition of Monthly Musings, Paulina Lee welcomes Nick Gerwe and Runjini Murthy, two of the newer members of the Here@Haas team to chat about spring break, what everyone is looking forward to as life returns to normal post-COVID-vaccine, and recommendations on what to read or listen to during a study break.

Check out the recent Here@Haas eps, books, and podcasts recommended in this episode!

Recent Here@Haas episodes:

• Nuhamin Woldemariam (EWMBA 22)
• Gillian Chu (EWMBA 22) 
• Zeenia Irani (EWMBA 23)  
• All our March podcasts featured amazing women leaders at Haas - be sure to give them a listen!

Books:

• Untamed by Glennon Doyle
• Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss
• The Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Podcast:

• Throughline from NPR

H@H: Ep. 54 – On this week’s episode of Here@Haas, Ray talks with Sarah Schilling (FTMBA 21) from ESADE, one of Berkeley’s partner schools for a virtual exchange this term. We talk about her interaction with Haas students and faculty, and how both ESADE and Haas share a penchant for entrepreneurship and collaboration. Sarah also mentions her extracurricular involvement within her class and how she fosters a strong culture of women leadership at ESADE.

Quotes

Comparing Berkeley & ESADE: “At Berkeley you cover different varieties of subjects - so you go much more into concepts in general. At ESADE we went a bit more in depth.”

“I think a similarity of ESADE and Berkeley is a focus on the entrepreneurial side and on founding companies and finding your own […] individual way.”

On her proudest moment throughout the MBA: “I was able to help more than 40 students in my class and also in the incoming cohort to practice for interviews. Being awarded with that trust and being one of these go-to people to ask for advice has really been an honor.”

Show References:

ESADE Business School

Forte Foundation

180 Degrees Consulting

Helvellyn Foundation

Factfulness

Invisible Women (bonus rec!)

H@H: Ep. 53 - Today, we give our condolences to the countless victims and loved ones who have suffered recently from the tragic events in Atlanta, San Francisco, New York, other places where Asians have seen increased hate crimes since COVID19 became a global epidemic.

Ray shares his own story of feeling exclusion, a sentiment felt by many Asians who grew up in a city or region where Asian representation is lacking. The events in recent months have shone light on the Asian community & its struggles in assimilating to America, whether due to explicit legislation, Hollywood stereotyping both Asian men and women (albeit very differently), or just differences in eastern vs. western culture.

Links to Resources:

• UC Campus Resources
• Counseling & University Health Services
• AAPI Drop-in Wellness Sessions
• StopAAPIHate
• Chinese Exclusion Act

Recent Asian Voices on H@H:

• Frances Ho
• Gillian Chu
• Alan Duong
• Kevin Chang
• Anna Lee

Album art courtesy of https://stopaapihate.org/

Zeenia Irani, EWMBA 23 – A Global Journey to Haas 

H@H: Ep 52 – Zeenia Irani joins NEW H@H host, Adam Ward on his first episode of Here@Haas. Zeenia discusses how her heritage, culture, and upbringing have formulated her perspectives and passions of community and the overall importance of elevating and providing support for vulnerable communities.

On how her Zoroastrian roots influence her perspective:

“Good thoughts, good words. Good deeds, which translates to in our book, the Avesta - And so growing up with these tenants that really influenced a sense of community and giving back.

On the importance of finding your passion & purpose:

“When you are able to focus on your passion and purpose. That's when change really takes place because it's coming from being a human and it's coming from knowing what our morals and values are. And that is what I would encourage folks to really think about is: what really matters to you and why do you care about this?”

Resources

• Haas Against Hunger
• Books:
• Beyond Machiavelli

H@H: Ep 51 – On this shelter-in-place anniversary edition of Here@Haas, host Ray Guan talks with Frances Ho about her unique journey to Haas from the animal welfare and music festival industries. The Bay Area went into quarantine in mid-March last year, and the live events & entertainment industry has been one of the hardest hit throughout. Frances talks about the challenges she’s faced, imposter syndrome (more common than you think) upon coming into the program, and the help she’s received along the way.

Quotes

On imposter syndrome within her cohort:

"I think one of the things that we discovered together was there were quite a few of us that were feeling this imposter syndrome, and none of us were talking to each other about it. And a lot of those individuals were women in our cohort."

On what she’s taken away from the program:

"Being an MBA student doesn't mean that you're perfect. It doesn't mean you're learning to become a CEO. It means that you're learning to be a better leader of organizations and people."

On how she knew it was time to transition:

"…it really just came to a point where I had maxed out what I wanted to do in animal welfare at the time. I really wanted to make a change in my life because I had been in animal welfare full-time for almost eight years and I was like it's time for me to delve into something deeper."

Resources

Berkeley Haas CMG

Haas Hearts

DMEC – Digital Media & Entertainment Club

San Francisco SPCA

H@H: Ep 50 – Gillian Chu joins host, Paulina Lee on this week’s episode of Here@Haas. Gillian shares about her journey growing up and working in different countries and making the cross-country move from NYC to SF. She discusses her passion for Haas and why she wanted to get involved as the EW MBA Association Co-President and the legacy she hopes to leave.

The legacy that Gillian hopes she and the executive team hope to leave:

“I'd like us to introduce new types of programming. New types of events and new types of ways to bring people together. I want to make sure that we're being as inclusive as possible as we can, because I think there's a huge range of personalities and types of people in the EW program.”

What she’s learned about Haas:

“One of the things I've enjoyed learning most about Haas has been when you let your guard down with people and you admit that you don't have a strong suit in something, you're not an expert and you're just here to learn, and you're curious to learn more.

How enthusiastically everybody jumps in to try and help you and how there is zero judgment that comes to admitting that you don't know how to tackle the homework, or you need a little help and explanation...And that to me really defines the Confidence Without Attitude defining leadership principle at Haas.”

Her advice for the newest class of Haasies:

“I think my advice would revolve around being curious, not being afraid to ask questions, not being afraid to tap somebody on the shoulder and introduce yourself to them...Don't be afraid to let your guard down and don't be afraid to admit you don't know something and you want to learn more because sometimes the professor will help you out. But most often it's your classmates who are really gonna open your eyes, and support you as you go through Haas.” 

Resources

• Diversity Symposium
• Recipes:
• Sticky Rice Dumplings
• Turnip Cake

H@H: Ep 49 – Nuhamin Woldemariam joins host, Paulina Lee on this week’s episode of Here@Haas. Nuhamin, shares her journey from Ethiopia to Chicago and finally to the Bay Area. She also discusses her pivot from accounting to recruiting to consulting and finding her current career working in Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at LinkedIn. Other themes in the episode are the Black experience in America and Corporate America, corporate culture, allyship, privilege and creating boundaries for yourself.

Nuhamin also shares the importance of finding a workplace that allows you to be your true self, “I always have a really hard time not being genuine. And I remember in a longer conversation, he ended up telling me this is a really great value to have in life. But it's not going to help you be great at this company and you are not going to succeed. I just remember looking at him and I said, ‘yeah, that's not gonna work for me.’”

Nuhamin on how DEI has evolved over the past year:

“I've been fortunate to sit in rooms with some of our leadership to see them with my own eyes and hear them say, we want to see real change and we're willing to do whatever it takes. And it's not just for show, these conversations are happening internally. It's really cool because they're also pushing us. So we get to push ourselves even further.”

Nuhamin’s advice for our newest Haasies:

“Enter Haas with a blank canvas. I went in with a perspective of this is going to be a great experience, but I already have really good friends. And so I'm not really trying to make besties here. And I ended up making some of my best friends through the program and it took some time for me to become open.”

Resources

• LinkedIn’s Allyship Academy
• Forte Foundation
• All About Love by Bell Hooks
• Unlocking Us by Brene Brown
• Better Allies

H@H: Ep 48 - D’Juan Wilcher joins Ray Guan this week on Here@Haas. As the SVP, Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Associated Bank, D’Juan is passionate about DEI and its evolution in the business world. A naval officer with extensive experience in the non-profit sector, D’Juan shares his advice on how people can make a difference in workplace equity no matter how big their company.

Episode Quotes

Lifelong learning in DEI: I think it's incredibly important that whoever wants to go into this space, they have to know that they will be on a continual journey themselves to learn… You have to have a deep sense of humility to know that you're not going to be right. 

Why DEI is so important: It’s an ethical and a moral imperative that we do this work and consider the humanity of the people we're working for… It doesn't make sense for there to be pools of talent where only certain people can have access to certain opportunities. 

The power of relationships: The way that I do [my work in DEI] is through building substantive relationships. I spend time with people. I get vulnerable with them very quickly, because I don't know how much time I'll have with someone. I want them to know I'm sincere and vulnerable and to get there with me so we can do this together.

Resources

13th documentary (YouTube)

Inclusive Leadership Institute, offered by Pneumos

Diversity at Haas

H@H: Ep 47 – Cheick Diarra joins host, Ray Guan on this week’s episode of Here@Haas. Cheick, originally from Mali, has a deep background in biotech, including receiving his Doctorate of Pharmacy at UCSF, and currently works as a Senior Safety Scientist at Genentech. 

To all that know Cheick, he is always optimistic, encouraging and raises the spirits of anyone he interacts with. Self described as “annoyingly positive” Cheick believes that “How you frame things in your head can go a long way. For instance, I don’t see dead ends, I see detours. I don’t see barriers, I see stepping stones. [...] You have to embrace the low, the mid and the high, and things work out.”

Chieck, a scientist at heart, knows that the way we understand the world evolves in time and that “Truth as we know today may move based on your evidence tomorrow.” Always a challenger of the status quo, Cheick has lived out this principle, from finding new ways to approach math problems in 5th grade, to how he shapes and evolves his career today. 

Resources

• Professor Ross Levine
• Give and Take by Adam Grant