Kathryn Brewer

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Kathryn-Brewer2“Kathryn, you’re in!” declared the UCLA admission officer as she immediately recognized the voice on the other side of the phone. Why could an admission officer, who dealt with thousands of students each year, recognize a voice so quickly? It was because she had been receiving daily phone calls from a young Kathryn Brewer, anxious to learn of her admission application status. This kind-of hunger and determination has pushed Kathryn to grow and succeed in her diverse career.

Kathryn believes that it is always important to find challenges and strive for more accomplishment. In fact, it was this philosophy that led her to UCLA. After high school, Kathryn was eager to become an adult, be independent and join the workforce right away. Starting as a Secretary Sales Assistant for Hewlett-Packard, Kathryn vividly recalls a life-changing moment. Her supervisor congratulated her on her excellent performance during her annual review and remarked, “You’re going to be a Secretary 3 in no time!” However, Secretary 3 wasn’t here career ambition and she knew her lack of a college education was capping her potential. Determined, it was on that exact night that she started her application to UCLA. Looking back, Kathryn believes it is imperative to “make the commitment to be the best version of yourself.”.

In addition to the financial and analytical skills that she gained from her education as an Economics major, Kathryn learned two skills that would serve her for the rest of her life – teamwork and perseverance in the face of adversity. Kathryn worked close to a full-time job with her studies. This made it difficult for her to find enough time to study. However, she was able to always form study groups which helped her push through UCLA’s demanding curriculum. Kathryn loved forming as many study groups as possible; to her, collaboration was key to success within the classroom. In her career after UCLA, it was her ability to work with and lead colleagues that helped her achieve remarkable success. For instance, she remembers when she took over a struggling aviation company operating in a tight labor market. She was able to take the company and triple the revenue in less than 2 years. In fact, the company culture she developed had technicians calling to express a desire to work for her company.

Furthermore, Kathryn has the ability to make the best out of difficult situations. This ability again goes back to her college experiences. Kathryn’s father gave her limited funds during her college years. She had a mere $500 per month to cover textbook costs, rent, transportation, groceries, and all of her other living expenses. Oftentimes as the month came to end, so did her cash. However, Kathryn did not complain or simply ask for more money. Instead, she found a solution to the problem. She would go to the Student Center and eat the 5-cent oatmeal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This less-than-ideal predicament showed her how to survive and thrive in difficult conditions and possess the initiative to work your way out of a bad situation.

This creed led to some of her proudest moments. Kathryn is a single mother of two boys for more than 30 years. Despite the challenges brought on by this, she attended Whittier Law School, and received her M.B.A. from Pepperdine University while working demanding full-time jobs. One of the defining moments of her life came on the day of her Pepperdine graduation. As she went up on stage to receive her diploma, she could hear her boys cheering from the crowd. Even though they were just children, they had watched how hard she worked for her diploma and appreciated her accomplishment. Recalling this, she says she has never been prouder or felt a greater sense of accomplishment.

Since then Kathryn has held a variety of positions in a range of companies. Though years have gone by, Kathryn remains as excited for new challenges as ever. From being CFO at a baby clothes brand to accepting the CEO position at an aviation company, Kathryn has a rich treasure trove of experiences. In fact, she emphasizes the importance of trying out different jobs to UCLA seniors who might be stuck with the mentality of finding their final job right out of graduation or facing eternal doom. By working in various fields, Kathryn has been able to discover what she’s truly great at. The aggregate of what she’s learned at her many positions in life has been invaluable to her career.  Additionally, no matter which field you are in, it is important to think of problems in terms of their potential solutions. She says that she loves working with people who get excited if challenged with a new problem. Problems are not a hindrance to success but a mechanism through which we can achieve success. When it comes to the risk and uncertainty associated with these problems, Kathryn recalls words from one of her favorite books, The Road Less Traveled, “Problems are the cutting edge that distinguishes between success and failure.” The courage and wisdom we develop from problem solving is foundation to Kathryn’s simple philosophy: “If you put clear intentions into the universe, the universe will conspire to give them to you”.

Lastly, Kathryn believes it is imperative to give back to the community. As a member of the Board of Directors for The Literacy Project, Kathryn adores witnessing “the effervescent joy on children’s faces”.  She reasons that there is a lot we can learn from these children. She recalls an experience when they gave snacks at an event sponsored by the LA Angels called “Readers in the Outfield”. Several of the at-risk children from the program asked if they could take the left-over snacks back home for their siblings. That day, they gave an extra snack box to all the kids to take home. The impact of the joy these kids expressed, brought on not by selfish desires but an innocent and selfless love for their family, was clear by Kathryn’s face as she told us this story. When you give, you get a lot more back.

Kathryn is grateful to UCLA for teaching life’s essential ingredients. She proudly declares, “I’m always going to be a Bruin”. This sense of identity has been important for her as she faces challenges head on. Using her education as a foundation, she is always striving to be better; a better person, a better CEO, a better mother. In the process, she has achieved success not only in her career, but in her personal life despite challenges that could have derailed her.   She hopes her story provides inspiration to others understanding that life is difficult; but having purpose in what you do changes hard work into a labor of love.

By Bailey Brann and Harsh Gupta

The Cost of Bad Parents

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Arteaga

Carolina Arteaga

Almost three million children in the U.S. have a parent in prison. Do these missing parents harm child development or, conversely, remove a negative influence?

Imprisoning a parent may have many effects on a child. On the negative side, parental incarceration could create emotional trauma and impose financial hardship. Often childcare arrangements are disrupted and in many cases incarceration triggers house and school moves. On the other hand, we can also think of reasons for parental incarceration to be positive. Removing a violent parent or a negative role model from the household can create a safer environment for the child.

There is a literature that looks at the broad correlations between parental incarceration on children’s outcomes. This finds negative associations between parental incarceration and a host of important variables such as mental health, education, and crime. However, households with incarcerated parents are disadvantaged along many dimensions. For example, such households are more likely to experience domestic violence and mental illness, and be involved in drug use.

In her job market paper, “The Cost of Bad Parents: Evidence from the Effects of Parental Incarceration on Children’s Education”, UCLA PhD student, Carolina Arteaga, estimates the causal effect of parental incarceration on children’s educational attainment. She does this in the context of Colombia, using random differences in judge leniency to identify causal effects. Intuitively, she compares the children of two identical prisoners, where one is assigned to a lenient judge, and the other to a strict judge.

Carolina finds that parental incarceration increases educational attainment by 0.8 years. With an average schooling of 7 years, this corresponds to an increase of 11% in education. In the study, she also finds that the benefit of parental incarceration increases when parental quality decreases, that this positive effect is larger for boys, when the parent is incarcerated for a violent crime, and when the mother is the one going to prison.

Her findings suggest that on average, parents who are on the margin of incarceration in Colombia are likely to reduce their child’s educational attainment if they instead remain in the household. These findings are consistent with previous research that shows how removing a violent parent or negative role model from the household can create a safer environment for a child. Criminal parents may also deplete economic resources, and the economic contribution of defendants is likely to be small. Parental incarceration may also reduce the intergenerational transmission of violence, substance abuse, and crime. Lastly, parental incarceration may result in the child being placed with an alternative caregiver who has better resources to care for the child. Indeed, she finds that after an episode of parental incarceration, children often move in with their grandparents. They are also more likely to move to a household with higher socioeconomic status.

Carolina Arteaga will graduate this summer, and will be joining the Department of Economics at the University of Toronto.

Zoe

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2018 Professor Harry Simons Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship for the Study of Accounting Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Zoe is a junior finishing her major in Business Economics and minor in Accounting in Spring 2019. Born in China and immigrated to Canada, she found her transition to new environments not only helped her gain new perspectives of the world around her, but also challenged her in a multitude of dimensions. Due to this, her decision to pursue higher education at UCLA follows her goal to constantly challenge and better herself. As someone with no prior exposure to economics or accounting, she started from scratch and very much enjoyed the learning process. Zoe has also been a competitive karate athlete and the Culture and Education Representative for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games; she enjoys visiting art museums and traveling.

Future plans: Zoe will finish her undergraduate degree in June 2019, a year earlier than her degree expected term. She will be interning at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the core assurance practice, after which she is likely to become a full time public accountant. She hopes to work with clients in the Telecom, Entertainment and Technology sector to expand her expertise in these industries; in the meantime, she will work towards getting her CPA license within a year.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I cannot express enough of my gratitude for the donors of the Professor Harry Simons Endowed Scholarship for their kindness and generosity that both encourage and support me towards pursuing a career in business. It is a great honor to be a recipient of this award and I will definitely work even harder to prove myself worthy of this recognition.  This award showed me the importance of giving and inspires me to extend the circle of giving through my own domains.

Bingru Xue

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Biography: Bingru Xue is a senior Business Economics, Communications majors and Accounting Minor. She is now working as a part-time intern at a LA-based cosmetics company. She is a active member of Beta Alpha Psi and Student Accounting Society. During her spare time, Bingru enjoys boxing, hiking and singing.

Future Plans: Bingru worked as an intern at Deloitte during her sophomore summer vacation.In the future, she plans to continue her education in a graduate program. After graduation, she envisions herself working in a public accounting firm or the finance department in a top company.

What does this scholarship mean to me?: I am so honored to receive the Ralph and Shirley Shapiro Scholarship and I am thankful for Mr. and Mrs. Shapiro’s support. This scholarship provides me support to pursue future education, which build me a solid fundament for my career in economics and accounting. The scholarship not only helps me to release my financial burden, but also teaches me the value of giving back to my community.

Qingyi Wang

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2018 Robert D. and Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Qingyi Wang is a second year business economics student at UCLA, intending to double major in cognitive science. Originally from Beijing, China, he thoroughly enjoyed studying in Los Angeles and bathing in the warm sunlight. He previously interned in a Chinese fund management company, where he saw the process of investment first-hand. During his time in UCLA, he took economics and accounting courses to expand his knowledge about careers in the business world. But much of the learning happens outside of the classrooms as well. Using his economic knowledge, he studied the pricing of eBay auctions, and tried to explain the price fluctuations with economic principles. A member of two choral ensembles, he is often heard singing in Schoenberg Music Building or Haines Hall in the afternoon hours. He also enjoys exploring the city with his camera, letting his creative thoughts run wild.

Future plans: Still open to endless possibilities regarding future careers, Qingyi Wang plans to use Spring quarter and the entire Summer to continue exploring. He will apply for a research assistant position at Anderson Behavioral Lab during the school year to gain some research experience on consumer behaviors. In the future, he will actively seek out internships in business service firms and in positions that puts both his economic and psychological knowledge into use.

What this scholarship means to me?: I am extremely honored and grateful to be selected as the Robert D. and Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship recipient for this academic year. The Wark family’s generous support for my education not only serves as a validation for my work, but also a relief to the financial burden placed upon me and my family while I am enrolled as an out-of-state student. This scholarship award serves as an ever-present motivator for me to give my absolute best in any academic and professional pursuit. One day, I aspire to give the same kind of encouragement to other students.

Chenjian Wang

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2018 Robert D. & Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Born and raised in Hangzhou, China, Chenjian Wang is currently a fourth-year student at UCLA double majoring in Economics and Mathematics of Computation, with a minor in Statistics. Chenjian took advantage of the challenging and comprehensive curriculum to build up a solid foundation in quantitative analysis. Outside of classroom, Chenjian applied the Economics and Finance knowledge in his internship at Chantico Global, LLC., an asset management consultancy company. Chenjian worked as a Quantitative Researcher Intern on the firm’s Global-Macro investment strategy, in which he processed, analyzed and data-mined over 40 countries’ macroeconomic data collected from Bloomberg. In addition, Chenjian has been taking leadership roles in Algorithmic Trading at UCLA. As a Trader Chair, he represented UCLA to participate in UChicago’s 6th Midwest Trading Competition and won the second place in Pairs Trading Case. In his free time, Chenjian enjoys Game of Thrones, skiing, and solving mathematical puzzles.

Future Plans: Having a strong interest in quantitative finance, Chenjian intends to pursue a career as a quantitative trader/quantitative researcher. Currently, he is applying to MFE programs to improve his professional skills and explore more career opportunities. In the long term, Chenjian hopes to start his own quantitative trading fund in Asia.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I am extremely honored to be the recipient of Robert D. & Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship. I want to express my sincere gratitude to the Wark Family for their generosity in supporting my study at UCLA. This scholarship would help me to pay for my educational and living expenses and, more importantly, recognize my effort and collegiate achievement. In addition, as an international student, this scholarship would allow me for more flexibility in traveling and more time to spend with my family. In the remainder of my time at UCLA, I will honor this scholarship and show my appreciation to its donors through success in my education at UCLA.

Brittany Wang

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2018 Venu and Ana Kotamraju Endowed Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Brittany Wang is a senior at UCLA pursuing a degree in Business Economics, with minors in Accounting and Global Studies. Brittany is interested in the effects of globalization on international business and has interned at an ecommerce start up called Digizone Technology Corporation. Additionally, she has completed an internship at a Big 4 Accounting firm, KPMG. Throughout her time at UCLA, she’s worked as a student event clerk at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and participated in student organizations as the Financial Vice President of Gamma Phi Beta and logistics committee member for Relay For Life. During her free time, she enjoys exploring Los Angeles, practicing yoga, and studying screenwriting.

Future Plans: Having completed an audit internship at KPMG the summer before her senior year, Brittany Wang will return to KPMG after graduation as an associate in their Deal Advisory practice in downtown Los Angeles. She’ll participate in a rotational program specializing in financial due diligence and accounting advisory services in mergers and acquisitions.  She plans on studying and obtaining her CPA within the next couple of years. Eventually, she hopes to pursue an MBA, after gaining crucial work experience with various clients from different industries.

What does this scholarship mean to me?: I am thrilled to be selected for the Venu and Ana Kotamraju Scholarship. It is incredibly fulfilling to be rewarded for my accomplishments by the Economics department and I’m truly honored to be presented with this opportunity. I cannot begin to express how grateful I am for Mr. and Mrs. Kotamraju’s generosity. I look forward to ending my time at UCLA with enthusiasm and hope that I will be in a position in the future that I can generously give back to my school, as Mr. and Mrs. Kotamraju has so graciously done.

Joao Pedro Queiroga Zancanaro

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Professor Harry Simons Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship for the Study of Accounting Scholarship Recipient

Biography: João Pedro Queiroga Zancanaro is a fourth year Business Economics major who is minoring in Accounting and Mathematics. He was raised in Brasília, Brazil, and is the first of his family to pursue an undergraduate education abroad. He first became interested in Economics during a History class that discussed Schumpeter’s “creative destruction”, and first became interested in Accounting after reading financial statements while taking introductory classes at UCLA. João Pedro has a passion for soccer and traveling, enjoys martial arts and singing for the UCC Music Ministry, and is always looking for new topics of interest to learn.

Future Plans: After graduating, João Pedro intends to work in an M&A firm while studying for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exam and other finance and accounting-related certificates. If he goes back to Brazil, he also intends to validate his degree in either Accounting or Economics. In the long term, João Pedro hopes to have a business of his own, and to create a philanthropic organization to help fight poverty and illiteracy in South America.

What does this scholarship mean to me?: I am unbelievably grateful for being selected as the recipient of the Professor Harry Simons Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship for the Study of Accounting. This scholarship not only provides me with financial relief, but also motivates me to pursue my dreams and to give something back to my family and to my community. As I know that my grades and past experiences have contributed greatly to my application, this scholarship also gives me a concrete example of how dedication yields fantastic results. I would like to thank my family for giving me strength and for inspiring me to be a better person, and I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all who made this award possible.

Winny Mulyasasmita

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2018 Gumbiner Savett Inc. Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Winny is a fourth year international student from Indonesia. Prior to UCLA, she studied in Singapore, where her interest in Economics started to develop. At UCLA, she is majoring in Business Economics and minoring in Digital Humanities. Interested in the cross-section between business and social change, Winny served as President of 180 Degrees Consulting on campus and was selected for the Social Enterprise Academy in her junior year. In her free time, Winny enjoys volunteering, dancing, going to escape rooms, and exploring national parks.

Future Plans: Keen to learn essential business management skills, Winny intends to pursue a career in management consulting. Upon graduation, she will be returning to Bain & Company in Indonesia, where she interned last summer.

What this scholarship means to me?: It is with enormous gratitude that I receive the Gumbiner Savett scholarship. This scholarship is a hallmark of the generosity of donors who believe in young Bruins and encourage them to make a difference as future leaders of the world. I am humbled by this acknowledgement of my past and potential achievements. As my graduation draws near, this scholarship is also a reminder of the abundant resources that UCLA has provided me with over the past four years. I am truly grateful, and I hope to one day pay it forward to future Bruins.

Jennifer Lily Ma

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2018 Donald Edward Bragg & Diane Sims Bragg Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Jennifer Ma is a third year Business Economics and International Development Studies double major. Hailing from Massachusetts, she decided to attend UCLA to experience and learn in a new environment on the other side of the country. Through her double major, she has been able to explore her interest in global development from a financial and economic standpoint and in applying theories to real world cases of development. Since coming into UCLA, Jennifer has also taken on leadership positions in student organizations such as Bruin Asset Management, Undergraduate Business Society, and Synthesis Dance Theatre.

Future plans: This upcoming summer, Jennifer will be interning in the Investment Banking division at Credit Suisse in New York. From this internship, she hopes to hone her technical skills, financial knowledge, and general business acumen. Upon graduating, she plans on pursuing a career in investment banking in New York for the opportunity to advise blue chip companies and work on some of the largest transactions in today’s markets. After gaining some experience in the field, Jennifer plans to transition to the buy-side, specifically to venture capital to invest in start-ups and ultimately transform the future business landscape. Eventually, she hopes to ascend to an executive or partner level of a firm and champion female representation in the boardrooms of financial institutions.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I am incredible honored to have been chosen for the Donald Edward Bragg & Diane Sims Bragg Scholarship award and would like to thank Mr. Bragg and his family for the generous contribution that made this award possible. Their support alleviates the financial burden of a college education and allows me to focus on my academic and career goals. In addition, this scholarship acts as a recognition of my hard work in the past few years and my dedication to not only my studies and professional goals, but also my commitment to the UCLA community. I am very grateful for the Bragg family’s support and am motivated to strive to uphold the standards of this award.