2011 John J. Peterson Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Yang Zheng is a fourth-year student pursuing a Business-Economics major and Accounting minor. Born in China, Yang moved to Hawaii when he was four and later to Davis, California. Over the past year, he interned with UBS Private Wealth and Mulholland Financial Services. Most recently, he served as a Market Research Assistant at Hangzhou Longguan Industrial Co. Yang is a Founding Father at Lambda Chi Alpha and plays on the UCLA Lacrosse Team. He is currently studying Entrepreneurial Development and Project Evaluation at Fudan University in Shanghai, where he will also be continuing his work with Longguan. In his spare time, Yang likes to paint and write music.

Future Plans: While in Shanghai, Yang plans on interning at an investment bank or wealth management firm to gain international work experience. After graduating from UCLA, he would like to work for a couple years to accumulate capital and experience before returning to school to earn an MBA. Ultimately, Yang would like to take advantage of his bilingual and bicultural assets and open his own business.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I am both honored and grateful to receive the John J. Peterson Scholarship. I want to thank Mr. John J. Peterson for his continued generosity that has helped students like me through tough financial circumstances. With the rising costs of tuition over the past three years, it has been hard to focus on my academics and at the same time pursue my extracurricular activities. The scholarship will help alleviate some of the financial burden and allow me to concentrate on what I love. More importantly, receiving the scholarship has reaffirmed my goals and strengthened my determination to obtain them.