Trader Joe’s, Singapore, and Finding Home in San Francisco

Before college, you attended school in Singapore. What drew you to San Francisco as an international student?

I grew up multicultural in Singapore, the U.K., and China. In the U.K. system, you have to choose your career path in high school, while in the U.S., you have time to figure out what you want to do while in college. I applied to a medical school in the U.K. and universities in America. 

The University of San Francisco's diversity, social justice, and leadership values stood out to me. I got into both medical school and USF with a scholarship. I made a split-second decision and told my dad, “I’ll go to USF for a year, and if I hate it, I’ll reapply to med school.” I came in as a biology major and realized I love communications.

You were deeply involved in Associated Students of USF (ASUSF)  for a majority of your time at USF. What was your motivation to get so involved? 

I told my dad that if I went to USF, I would become the type of doctor who’s best for their community. That's what USF does. It gives you access to people who are really good at what they want to do, passionate about their work, and committed to helping, protecting, and expanding their corner of the world. 

I learned that the International Student Association needed a marketing chair, took two LinkedIn Learning courses, aced the interview, and got the role. I eventually became vice president and president, and became the international student representative on the ASUSF Senate. I helped international students get paid during the pandemic by reclassifying wages as scholarships, and I worked with the library to ship books overseas. 

San Francisco is now the place that I’ve called home the longest. I thought, ‘These are my people. This is my community.’ I was very fortunate that they gave me opportunities for representation and to serve in positions of leadership.

How does your background in business translate to the work you're doing now?

I use what I learned in class every day. Professor John O’Meara taught me the fundamentals of marketing, and Professor Sonja Poole taught me about multicultural marketing. At USF, I learned how to communicate with people who have limited resources and build systems where none existed. My community-engaged learning class placed me with a nonprofit supporting at-risk Black and brown youth. I worked hard for them, and they connected me with my current job.

Now I work at a nonprofit with 25 programs focused on housing, education, and reentry. There was no marketing department before I joined. I had to build the department and create brand guidelines from scratch.

If you were to give an international student a tour of San Francisco, where would you take them first?

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I like to show them what the American version of their culture is like or let them experience something they can only see in San Francisco. There are so many cool museums, like the Museum of the African Diaspora, the Asian Art Museum, and SFMOMA. This may seem strange, but one of the things I’ve taken a lot of international students to do is people-watch at Golden Gate Park or in the Financial District.

One of my favorite places to experience the uniqueness of American culture as an international student is Trader Joe’s. Grocery stores having personality is not a concept I’ve ever encountered, and I’ve visited grocery stores everywhere.

How have you chosen to stay connected to the university since graduation?

I made a strategic choice as a freshman: I befriended sophomores, juniors, and seniors. As a senior, I befriended underclassmen. I also mentored through the Magis program and interviewed alumni every year. I’m still in touch with students who were freshmen when I was a senior. Staying connected is important to me.

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