Charlotte Han has completed her first year of study in the Illinois MBA Program and expects to graduate in May 2006 with concentrations in marketing and general management.

She is a “poet” in the MBA Program – with English literature as her undergraduate major, she had never thought about getting an MBA before working for ANZ Taipei, the only Australian bank in Taiwan.

Being the personal assistant to the general manager put her at an “above all, below one” position. She learned to be a great communicator at ANZ: bridging the different points of view between management and the employees was always a challenge, especially because the employees were often not included in the managerial decision-making process. She began to wonder if there were better ways of managing people, and this brought her to the Illinois MBA Program.

The Illinois MBA Program enjoys an excellent reputation in Taiwan, and Charlotte quickly realized why. On top of the integrated curriculum, which provided her with a strong foundation in business essentials, she gained valuable first-hand consulting experience, from research and analysis to working with teams and interacting with clients, through various Illinois Business Consulting projects.

She was also elected as the director of branding for the Graduate Marketing Association, which opened the door to the world of marketing for her. She thinks taking a leadership role in the Illinois MBA is important, because what could be a better way to sharpen leadership skills than to lead/manage a group of MBAs?

Charlotte has realized that the most valuable lessons are sometimes learned outside of the classroom. She has always enjoyed working with people, and being able to network with such a talented group of professionals, alumni, administration, and business leaders is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She learned that in order to get good leads, one must be able to solve problems and identify available resources. 

Becoming skilled at networking takes time and practice, especially for international students like herself, but she is determined to create value for the Illinois MBA community.