Humans of Haas: Tia Chen-Wong
Tia Chen-Wong graduated last spring with a double major in Business Administration and English. She joined the Haas Undergraduate Blog in 2018 and served as Chief Editor from 2019-2020.
What is your most powerful moment at Haas?
I’ve had many great experiences at Haas, but the one that really sticks out in my mind is filming the Haas Tour vlog with our blog team this past semester! (If any of you haven’t seen it yet, watch it here.) We shot the whole thing over the course of a week in between classes, and as the director I was present for the entire filming process. It was so much fun shooting at various Haas locations like Cafe Think, the courtyard, the library, and the rooftop of Chou Hall–as a senior, I had so many memories at these places and really felt at home on campus. I also wanted to make sure that every member of our team got their own spotlight of screentime, and it was wonderful working with everyone and seeing their school spirit shine through on camera. Shortly after we wrapped up filming, classes got canceled and quarantine started, so that video means even more to me now. The fact that we got to capture that moment in time and immortalize ourselves in that way is really powerful.
How has Haas shaped you and your perspectives?
I think Haas as a school, and more importantly as a community, has shown me how truly diverse the business world is. Of course you have your ABC’s, and Haas has a lot of great resources for those career paths, but I’ve met so many people who want to pursue other industries and roles in business: marketing, entrepreneurship, film, fashion, food, space, you name it! Just read a few Humans of Haas interviews and you’ll see the variety. I have so many Haas friends who are striking out on their own path and inspire me with their passion and creativity. No matter what their interests are, everyone is incredibly driven and determined to make an impact. Surrounding myself with those people for the past two years has motivated me to do the same.
How has COVID and a virtual last semester affected you?
It was really sad because it was so sudden and unexpected. But in my personal experience, the Haas professors were very quick to adapt to new technology and online classes, so in a lot of ways it was better than what I was expecting an online semester to be. I credit that to the faculty who genuinely still wanted to educate us, despite the difficult circumstances. I think the biggest letdown was the social aspect, which was going to be sad anyway because it was my last semester. I along with many other seniors had a lot of plans that just fell through. But with everything going on in the world right now, I’m just grateful for my health, and the wellbeing of my friends and family. I know there will come a time when we can all be together again, and that’s enough to keep me hopeful.
