Meet Yan Gao
PHD in International Business, 2009
“
It’s not about other people telling you what you should do—know what you want.”
Tell us about yourself.
I was born and raised in China. I went to the Chinese school SUFE, got a BBA from there. Afterwards I went to work and graduated. I worked
in Shanghai for two years as a financial analyst. Then I moved to El Paso. I came here mainly to get my PhD.
Tell us about your experience working as a financial analyst after graduation.
The Chinese had a trade market based in Shanghai. So basically, we consolidate the financial report and make a rough analysis, and report
to the C.F.O of the company.
After you were a financial analyst you decided to come to El Paso. Why did you choose El Paso?
I came because of the new International Business program, which fit my interest.
Did you look into other schools?
For the United States, I applied here, a school in the northeast and in the east coast mainly Boston, Philadelphia, New York, I also
applied to a school in Asia. Probably because the school here is wonderful they gave me full financial support including tuition and it
covers
everything, so that’s good. That’s the reason I came here.
What are the advantages of each of the two regions you have previously studied?
China is close to my family but again in terms of research this is a good place if I really wanted to go into academia. Here there are a
lot of scholars and good scholars in the United States overall. For instance, when we go to conferences, once every year at least, we can
meet a few scholars. In China we do have good scholars, but the majority of scholars are in the United States.
What is your greatest achievement?
The first thing that was totally different for me was that I needed to learn to speak English since I spoke Chinese. After 4 and half
years, I can speak English and I teach a class, so I learned another language as well as a different environment. I feel like I have achieved
something. I have the paper published, in a good journal, and I’m working on my dissertation right now. I feel like this is my career—I
am starting to establish my career path. This is not just my career, this is my life.
Have you received any recognition for your journal article?
Yes, this journal is a good journal: Strategic Management Journal.
What is it like to be working on your dissertation?
It is something that you start, it starts usually with an idea, once you have an idea you need to work on it and do a little literature
review. You need to find experience, you need to have experience—you need to have a theory to support your argument. Then, you need to
start to collect data to prove the argument is right, it’s logic. It’s a big project because again the dissertation it is my own work, my own
baby. I need to take care of everything.
What motivated you to keep going?
This is something that is self-motivating—self-interest—because academics is totally different from internship areas. This is
something that you don’t have to do if you have another choice, like you can go into industry and find companies to work for. You don’t have
to do this, it is mainly you. If you are interested and you like what you do then this is wonderful for you and you will have a wonderful
life. Because being a professor you have flexible working schedules unlike in a company where you have to work from 9 to 5. Again, people
have different preferences, it’s really on what people like then you will continue to work on it. Again, this gives you wonderful life and
also this is my career.
Besides the language barrier what was another obstacle you had to overcome?
Mainly, being an international student, you don’t have a life here. I don’t have family here, and there aren’t a lot of Chinese around.
And not a lot of Chinese restaurants around! Sometimes there might be some Chinese students but life is different for many international
students: culture, how to interact, how to talk to people. Again, we are totally different. Sometimes I think, maybe it’s okay but sometimes
other people may think it is not okay. So I have to learn how to talk and work with the people.
What made you like business?
Business is not like others, it’s more like applied science. You have connections with daily life—it is not just a company, it’s
also when you read the news or watch TV. And back at my school in China, we had what we called our stock exchange or market, set on campus
so students could exchange stock. Instead of just watching it you could go to the stock market location and trade your market. It’s neat
because again it’s not knowledge that can be gained while reading a book or from a professor teaching, you actually experience it in real life.
What has been your experience in CoBA?
I think that being part of the PhD program has been pretty good. For instance, they give us conference travel money to cover the travel
expenses. Again the conferences are really good for us—we can exchange and connect for our college. Go out and talk to the people about
UTEP, and have people know that UTEP has a PhD program, and sell UTEP to other people, other institutions. This is another way to sell our school,
so they know that there are people doing something at UTEP. And also, the school is proud about our research. If we need something the school
will try to get me what I want, they might not always be able to but they will try.
What advice would you give CoBA students?
It’s really up to you. Undergraduate students, probably besides studying, you have to establish connections and get outside experience
so you can get internships which will help you. It’s not just about money—they can also give you some real experience. If you want to
continue and get a Masters or even a PhD, then probably your career path might be different from MBA and undergraduate students. Another thing
is that a PhD is more like research. You probably need to spend more time on reading. MBA/undergraduate, I would encourage you to go out. I
encourage you to go out, many local students tend to stay here but before you choose your career you should go outside to see what you are
really passionate about. Don’t restrict yourself to around El Paso. El Paso is a big city in terms of size and population but it still lacks
something and it’s not quite like the big cities I have been to. You will probably have fewer opportunities but you can go outside to just
have news about other places. You can come back, work here and look for a company here but don’t just stay in one place—you should go
out to different cities.
What are your plans after you complete your PhD?
I want to become a professor at a university; I don’t mind where, it could be the United States or China.
What is the most valuable lesson you have learned in your path?
Know what you want to do, try your best and work towards this goal. You need to figure out actually what you want. It is not about
something being bad or good, but what you want because you can only self-motivate yourself. It’s not about other people telling you what you
should do—know what you want.
More information on Yan Gao including publications and proceedings can be found on her PHD Program Profile page.