Personal Statement

As a daughter from a family of refugees from a developing country, I have witnessed and experienced how hard it is for outsiders to assimilate and adapt to our society. Thus, I care deeply about education and improving economic growth in developing countries. During the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia in 1975 that caused the deaths of over two million Cambodians, my mother became a refugee in America. In a matter of days, my family left the comfortable life they had in Cambodia to start all over in the United States, a country where they did not speak the language and had no ties to. With this experience, my family constantly stressed the importance of education and family as with these guiding principles, my mother managed to rise above the

Growing up, I was taught that no one can ever take away your intellect and integrity and so both of those qualities are what I strive for in everything that I do and I hope that I can help others achieve. My background has guided my path and how I want to shape my future. From a young age, I pursued study abroad opportunities in Taiwan, Oxford, Pebble Beach, Boston, Milan and Montreal. Evidently, I have been on my own for quite a long time and have had time to be introspective and learn more about myself and what I want to accomplish in life. What I learned from my experiences abroad, is that family and relationships is what gives me the most joy in life. Also, that having the privilege to have the exposure of different cultures and meeting people from all over the world, gives me a lot of insight to be able to make a significant change in the world. Wanting to take advantage of the international exposure and network, I decided to double major in accounting and finance at McGill University. With that technical background in the business area coupled with a concentration in strategic management in social business and enterprise, I can use my skills to help others. To illustrate, I was able to work with the consulting firm McKinsey and

I hope to start off in a career of investment banking to develop the network and skills it would take to be in more of a strategic role in a company and then pursue my Masters in Business Administration to transition into more corporate strategy opportunities in the social sector. Other than career goals, I hope to continue to be the caring person that I am and strive to foster stronger relationships with those around me. My vision for myself in my personal life is to be able to be a person that you can count on to make your day better. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: "The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well." With these ambitious long term goals ahead of me, the quote from Emerson always helps me remember my purpose and how I can best contribute to