This document summarizes Victoria Gu's journey across the world from her childhood in Shanghai, China to her current career. She grew up in Shanghai but moved with her family to Auckland, New Zealand as a child where she gained confidence and pursued new interests like scuba diving. She later returned to Shanghai for high school before moving to Los Angeles to attend USC, where she discovered her passion for finance. After graduating, she worked as a banker in San Francisco before deciding to pursue an MBA at MIT to further her global career experiences.

1. My
Journey
Across
the
World
Victoria
Gu
MIT
Sloan
Class
of
2019
– Candidate

2. Growing
up
in
bustling
Shanghai
Shanghai,
China
Growing
up
in
Shanghai,
I
loved
being
close
to
my
extended
family
and
visiting
them
on
a
frequent
basis.
My
parents
were
ambitious
chemical
engineers
coming
from
a
modest
background.
As
my
parents
were
occupied
starting
their
own
venture,
hoping
to
provide
me
with
a
better
life,
they
sent
me
to
a
day-­‐care
style
school
where
I
lived
in
dormitories
with
many
other
students
during
the
week.
Even
though
the
curriculum
in
Shanghai
focused
solely
on
math
and
science
and
extracurricular
activities
were
frowned
upon,
being
surrounded
by
friends
almost
24/7
was
the
best
experience.
2My
Journey
Across
the
World
On
a
summer
vacation
to
Qingdao,
China
Me
with
Power
Ranger
crew
in
Kindergarten

3. Aotearoa – New
Zealand
Land
of
Long
White
Clouds
Auckland,
New
Zealand
On
one
unremarkable
afternoon,
my
parents
suddenly
announced
that
we
were
moving
to
New
Zealand.
They
had
an
opportunity
to
move
there
for
work
and
wanted
to
provide
me
with
a
new
educational
experience.
3My
Journey
Across
the
World
My
teachers
in
Auckland
encouraged
me
to
try
new
things.
Originally
quite
shy,
I
trusted
my
teachers’
advice
and
ran
for
leadership
roles.
After
seeing
my
efforts
come
to
fruition,
I
saw
how
even
a
single
person
could
make
a
real
difference.
Since
then,
I’ve
felt
strongly
compelled
to
step
up
in
order
to
help
out
in
any
way
possible.
The
newly
gained
courage
soon
spread
to
other
areas
in
my
life.
After
my
first
trip
to
the
aquarium,
I
developed
an
intense
curiosity
about
marine
animals
and
decided
to
get
certified
as
a
scuba
diver.
Although
I
didn’t
know
how
to
swim
and
was
terrified
of
the
water,
I
overcame
my
fear.
Now,
as
a
Divemaster
in
training,
my
love
of
scuba
diving
has
confirmed
my
belief
that
bold
actions
can
lead
to
wonderful
outcomes.
Receiving
the
national
40
Hour
Famine
Scholarship
for
outstanding
leadership
Everything
in
school
was
different;
I
felt
encouraged
to
move
beyond
core
subjects
to
explore
things
that
I
was
interested
in
We
also
did
frequent
class
camping
trips
in
nature.
I
went
from
a
city
girl
to
a
girl
who
loved
nature

4. Shanghai,
China
Returning
to
Shanghai
When
I
went
back
to
Shanghai,
my
relatives
insisted
that
I
focus
on
school,
rather
than
extracurricular
activities.
It
made
me
realize
how
much
I
had
changed
while
in
New
Zealand.
I
saw
the
world
more
expansively
and
saw
community
engagement
as
a
core
part
of
my
identity.
As
I
joined
the
expat
community,
I
experienced
two
parallel
yet
different
perspectives
of
expats
and
the
locals.
Wanting
to
show
my
expat
friends
the
Shanghai
I
knew,
I
invited
them
to
dine
with
my
relatives
to
experience
local
cuisine
and
took
them
around
the
local
districts.
Gradually,
I
began
putting
a
big
emphasis
on
cultural
integration,
including
helping
my
friends
deepen
their
understanding
of
the
local
environment.
These
experiences
inspired
my
strong
interest
in
cultural
exchange
and
immersion.
4My
Journey
Across
the
World
My
friends
and
I
are
on
volunteering
trips
in
Li
Jiang,
China
High
School
Graduation
with
family
and
friends

5. Sunny
SoCal
5My
Journey
Across
the
World
The
most
memorable
activities
at
USC:
International
Student
Roundtable
with
USC
Administration
Los
Angeles,
CA
It
wasn’t
until
I
helped
my
business
major
friends
to
organize
a
finance
information
session
that
I
discovered
my
intense
interest
in
finance.
Despite
discovering
my
passion
later
than
most,
I
took
on
numerous
school
year
internships,
self-­‐study
courses
and
eventually
added
the
business
degree
to
prepare
for
a
career
in
banking.
I
was
originally
interested
in
studying
Communication
and
thought
that
Los
Angeles,
the
hub
of
media,
would
be
the
best
place
to
start.
After
a
few
internships
and
classes,
I
wanted
to
explore
other
areas
to
stretch
myself
intellectually.
Our
year
was
marked
by
many
food-­‐focused
events,
International
Food
Fair,
Speed
Friend
Dating,
etc.

6. Golden
Gate
Bridge
to
Big
Ben
San
Francisco,
CA
Determined
to
put
the
knowledge
I
amassed
during
university
into
a
global
context,
I
decided
to
first
work
in
the
U.S.
The
renowned
Silicon
Valley
deeply
attracted
me
and
I
was
excited
to
cover
the
technology
sector
in
banking.
At
J.P.
Morgan,
not
only
did
I
get
exposure
to
the
brightest
minds
in
the
industry,
I
also
made
amazing
friends
across
cultural
backgrounds.
Later,
I
decided
to
move
to
London
for
my
expat
assignment
to
further
stretch
my
comfort
zone.
There,
I
developed
intercultural
collaboration
skills,
simultaneously
managing
the
various
cultures
of
Pan-­‐European
teammates
on
cross-­‐
border
transactions.
Moreover,
London’s
multicultural
work
environment
provided
a
playground
to
synthesize
what
I
had
learned
in
childhood
and
university
to
evaluate
new
regions
that
I
covered
in
a
global
context.
6My
Journey
Across
the
World
Hosting
Thanksgiving
dinner
with
American
and
International
friends
in
SF
J.P.
Morgan
Women
Outing
at
High
Tea
in
London
London,
U.K.

7. My
Aspiration
I
look
forward
to
working
as
a
distressed
debt
investor,
enjoying the
intellectual
challenges
of
taking
contrarian
views
and
spearheading
the
turnaround
of
distressed
companies.
I
aspire
to
become
a
partner
overseeing
the
distressed
portfolio
at
an
American
firm
and
help
it
expand
into
emerging
markets
to
explore
untapped
opportunities. Satisfying
my
intellectual
passion,
it
would
be
meaningful
to
improve
these
companies’
health
and
create
impact
beyond
the
investor’s
bottom
line.
7My
Journey
Across
the
World
Cambridge,
MA
Opportunities
to
acquire
an
investment
framework
at
MIT
are
endless.
From
flexible
curriculum
and
courses
such
as
“Investment
Management”,
to
Investment
Conference and
on-­‐site
days,
I
can
focus
on
key
areas
of
investing
knowledge
and
converse
directly
with
the
brightest
minds
in
the
industry.
1 2 3
At
MIT,
I
am
excited
to
sharpen
my
negotiation
and
communication
skills.
These
skills
are
indispensable
in
distressed
scenarios.
“Game
Theory
for
Strategic
Advantage”
will
help
me
learn
the
key
psychological
drivers
of
negotiation
and
Leadership
Center
offers
a
chance
to
evaluate
and
put
learning
into
practice.
I
am
excited
for
Action
Learning
Lab
to
focus
on
issues
related
to
the
credit
climate
in
emerging
markets.
"New
Model
for
Global
Business”
will
prepare
me
for
strategic
management
across
borders
and
“Global
markets,
National
Policies,
and
the
Competitive
Advantages
of
Firms”
will
teach
me
how
to
analyze
local
policies
in
relation
to
market
entry.