About Brian: Brian Liu (‘22) is a first year at UCLA Anderson, pursuing a specialization in strategy and hoping to move into Management Consulting. Prior to Anderson, he was an associate in the Corporate Finance & Accounting department at Ares Management in Los Angeles. In his spare time, you can find Brian on the golf course looking for his ball, skiing down a mountain solely for the après, or coaching a soccer team of 8yr old’s to back to back championships.
As someone who was admitted to Anderson during Round 1, I had no idea that I would be starting my MBA journey behind a computer screen when I was admitted last December. Despite business school not starting quite the way I imagined, the one thing that did not change is that I still ended up very involved “on campus”. At Anderson there are many ways you can get involved, even in a virtual environment!
One of my favorite #WhyAnderson moments thus far was before classes even started this summer. As an admit champion for the Southern California region, I was tasked with creatively bringing the class together virtually during the peak of quarantine. This gave me the platform to collaborate with the other admit champions across the world and host a virtual 4th of July party bringing over 200 of our classmates together located anywhere from Los Angeles all the way to Australia!
As the summer and fall quarters start, leadership really ramps up here at Anderson. Section elections took place during week 2 and I was elected president (shout out section D!) despite my awkward campaign video that I still need to figure out how to wipe from the internet. Even though I am just a few weeks into my role, I meet with my fellow section presidents, the Dean of the FTMBA program, and the President and Vice President of student government on a weekly basis to discuss topics ranging from academics and clubs to simply how are my section mates and I doing. From this position, I genuinely feel empowered and supported to advance my classmates’ ideas and serve their needs to truly get the most out of our Anderson experience, no matter the modality of learning.
In addition to section leadership, Anderson has over 50 student led clubs and virtually all of them have leadership positions for first year students to apply for. Other than being a section president, I am a Director of Allyship for Women’s Business Connection, a director in Anderson Admissions Corps, and Director of Speakers & Events for A Comedy Club where I get to live out my dream of being on SNL (Lorne Michaels still has yet to respond to my coffee chat request unfortunately)!
At UCLA Anderson there is a wealth of opportunity for everyone and I honestly cannot think of one person who is not a director or in some sort of leadership role. We are all here to grow as leaders, and even if I have only been enrolled for a few months and I do not see my classmates in person; I already feel myself becoming the strong, confident, and empathetic leader that came to business school to transform into.
Student Blogger: Brian Liu '22
Undergrad: Emory University ‘14
Pre-MBA: Associate, Ares Management
Leadership@Anderson: President, Section D; Director of Allyship, Women’s Business Connection; Director of Events, A Comedy Club; Director, Anderson Ambassador Corps
Activites@Anderson: Management Consulting Association, ally in Women’s Business Connection, ally in Black Business Students Association, Anderson Admissions Corps, Wine Club, John Anderson Golf Club, A Comedy Club, and Japan America Business Association
More...
How does this impact your International MBA decision?
I'd be glad to learn your thoughts on this story : Student Perspectives: How to Get Involved in a Virtual Community
As someone who was admitted to Anderson during Round 1, I had no idea that I would be starting my MBA journey behind a computer screen when I was admitted last December. Despite business school not starting quite the way I imagined, the one thing that did not change is that I still ended up very involved “on campus”. At Anderson there are many ways you can get involved, even in a virtual environment!
One of my favorite #WhyAnderson moments thus far was before classes even started this summer. As an admit champion for the Southern California region, I was tasked with creatively bringing the class together virtually during the peak of quarantine. This gave me the platform to collaborate with the other admit champions across the world and host a virtual 4th of July party bringing over 200 of our classmates together located anywhere from Los Angeles all the way to Australia!
As the summer and fall quarters start, leadership really ramps up here at Anderson. Section elections took place during week 2 and I was elected president (shout out section D!) despite my awkward campaign video that I still need to figure out how to wipe from the internet. Even though I am just a few weeks into my role, I meet with my fellow section presidents, the Dean of the FTMBA program, and the President and Vice President of student government on a weekly basis to discuss topics ranging from academics and clubs to simply how are my section mates and I doing. From this position, I genuinely feel empowered and supported to advance my classmates’ ideas and serve their needs to truly get the most out of our Anderson experience, no matter the modality of learning.
In addition to section leadership, Anderson has over 50 student led clubs and virtually all of them have leadership positions for first year students to apply for. Other than being a section president, I am a Director of Allyship for Women’s Business Connection, a director in Anderson Admissions Corps, and Director of Speakers & Events for A Comedy Club where I get to live out my dream of being on SNL (Lorne Michaels still has yet to respond to my coffee chat request unfortunately)!
At UCLA Anderson there is a wealth of opportunity for everyone and I honestly cannot think of one person who is not a director or in some sort of leadership role. We are all here to grow as leaders, and even if I have only been enrolled for a few months and I do not see my classmates in person; I already feel myself becoming the strong, confident, and empathetic leader that came to business school to transform into.
Student Blogger: Brian Liu '22
Undergrad: Emory University ‘14
Pre-MBA: Associate, Ares Management
Leadership@Anderson: President, Section D; Director of Allyship, Women’s Business Connection; Director of Events, A Comedy Club; Director, Anderson Ambassador Corps
Activites@Anderson: Management Consulting Association, ally in Women’s Business Connection, ally in Black Business Students Association, Anderson Admissions Corps, Wine Club, John Anderson Golf Club, A Comedy Club, and Japan America Business Association
More...
How does this impact your International MBA decision?
I'd be glad to learn your thoughts on this story : Student Perspectives: How to Get Involved in a Virtual Community