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Dingxin Chen

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2014 Robert D. & Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Dingxin Chen is a fourth-year student pursuing a major in Business Economics and minors in both Accounting and Film. During his time at UCLA, he has developed great interest in the finance industry and has done various part-time jobs and internships at Anderson School of Management, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, and Deloitte, where he will be returning for full-time. In spring of 2014, he also became one of the Co-Directors of the Wilbur K. Woo Greater China Business Conference and successfully helped hold the grand event at Anderson School. Besides the world of business, Dingxin is also an actor who has starred in a number of influential theatre productions on campus. His most recent role is the director of the 2015 CSA Heritage Night which will be shown in Schoenberg Hall is April. In his spare time, Dingxin enjoys writing Chinese Calligraphy, playing Guzheng, drawing and writing traditional Chinese poems.

Future Plans: After graduation, Dingxin will be joining Deloitte & Touche as an Auditor in Orange County and obtain his CPA license. While working, he also plans to take the GMAT exam and apply for an MBA program at a top-notch Business School to enrich his knowledge and broaden his mindset.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I am extremely grateful and honored to receive the Robert D. & Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship Award. This award has not only alleviated my financial burden, but it is also a wonderful recognition of my past endeavors. Hence I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the Wark family for making this possible and I really wish they would know how much their generosity has helped me and my family. The financial assistance will definitely allow me to concentrate more of my time on school works and also encourage me to dream bigger.

Fan Yuan

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2015 Robert D. & Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Fan Yuan is a fourth-year student majoring in Economics and minoring in Statistics at UCLA. With the goal of finding her lifelong career passion, she decided to study abroad in the US. During her time in UCLA, she found great interest in finance industry and statistics related fields and is willing to take on all kinds of challenges to get to know more about these industries. She has completed many internships in the fields of consulting, venture capital, and is actively involved in the volunteer work. She is involved in many types of extracurricular activities and is trying her best to enjoy the rest of her college life in UCLA. She also enjoys reading, traveling, trying out new restaurants, and listening to music.

Future Plans: Fan is planning to further her study regarding finance and economics in graduate school and potentially will go into a business-related career such as consulting, data analysis, or investment banking after her graduation. She is applying for graduate programs now. Fan may also pursue a MBA, if necessary. She wants to enrich her knowledge and build a solid background before going into certain career.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I am extremely honored and grateful to receive a Robert D. & Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship award. It not only alleviates my financial burden but it is also a great recognition of my academic achievements. I want to express my sincere gratitude to the Wark family for their generosity and their help not only to me but to all of the students able to receive this award. I am more inspired than ever to work harder and hoping to be able to return to the community someday.

Natasha Elizabeth Gunawan

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2015 Robert D. & Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Natasha Elizabeth Gunawan is a fourth-year Economics major and Accounting Minor student. Born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia, she moved to the United States in 2013 for her academic degree and career. She serves as the internal director of ABSA at UCLA and is a part-time employee of ASUCLA. She has completed a business development internship abroad with Robert Bosch. Prior to her journey at UCLA, Natasha was enrolled at De Anza College, where she was the vice president of UNICEF De Anza and the treasurer of the Social Entrepreneurship Club. She was actively involved in a lot of local community fundraising events and she had also established a home-cooked food delivery business with some of her friends. Throughout her journey, Natasha has developed a passion for entrepreneurship as well as social entrepreneurship, which she sets as her vision and goals for the future. In her spare time, she enjoys baking, traveling, photography, hand lettering, and writing in her blog.

Future Plans: After completing her degree at UCLA, Natasha will start her career in the field of management consulting. She plans to relocate to San Francisco or New York to immerse herself in two of the world’s greatest financial centers. She also hopes to engage herself in various conferences to enrich her perspectives. After gaining a lot of exposure and expertise in the field, Natasha plans to move back home to Indonesia, where she plans to build her family, establish her own startup, while at the same time coordinate a social entrepreneurship organization for Indonesia’s development.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I am truly honored to have been selected as one of the 2015-2016 recipients of the Robert D. & Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship. The Wark Family’s generosity has helped me in securing my education and reaching my academic and career goals. Without a doubt, this scholarship will play an important part in my educational journey, especially in these times of economic uncertainties, as I can spend less time worrying about my finances and put more focus on my academic achievements. Furthermore, I also appreciate this award as a special form of recognition of my academic accomplishments. I truly hope that my hard work and commitment to success will reflect the Wark Family’s values and honor their lives. I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to the Wark Family for their investment in UCLA and the futures of students like me.

Jessica Chan

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2016 Robert D. & Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Jessica is a fourth-year Economics major and Statistics minor. She currently works as a research assistant at the Anderson Behavioral Lab and assists with academic publishing at the Getty Research Institute. Since coming to UCLA, whether writing for Daily Bruin prime Magazine or designing and copy-editing for the Daily Bruin, Jessica has been involved in student media. She recently spent six weeks studying marketing and consumer behavior abroad at the London School of Economics. When she’s not busy with school or work, she enjoys shooting film photography.

Future Plans: Jessica hopes to combine her creative passions with the analysis that economics and statistics fosters. After seeing the two come together in London through marketing, she is eager to find a summer internship and ultimately, career of her own that brings together her passions. She plans to pursue graduate education related to statistics and cognitive science in the future to build on what she has learned at UCLA.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I feel incredibly grateful and honored to receive the Robert D. & Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship. I enjoy both of my jobs and have worked throughout my time at UCLA because it is important to me that I pay for part of my education and relieve the financial burden on my family. This scholarship allows me to both reduce the financial burden on my family and focus on achieving my academic and career goals. I feel thankful for the Wark Family’s support and generosity and would love to be able to help others achieve their academic and career goals someday.

Danwei Chen

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2016 Robert D. & Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Danwei Chen is a third-year student at UCLA pursuing a major in Economics and minor in Accounting. Having completed elementary through high school in Wisconsin, she is enjoying discovering all that Los Angeles has to offer. Danwei currently works for the Laurence and Lori Fink Center for Finance & Investments within the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management, where she has learned much about the finance industry. She is passionate about community involvement and serves as Vice President-Operations of Colleges Against Cancer at UCLA, the collegiate extension of the American Cancer Society. Danwei recently studied abroad at the London School of Economics, during which time she took courses in finance and economics and fostered her passions for travel and global cultures. She also likes to spend time hiking, playing/watching tennis, and trying new foods.

Future Plans: Danwei is excited about the applications of her education and is working towards a career in finance. This summer, she will be completing a Summer Analyst position at Pacific Alternative Asset Management Company in Irvine, California. She hopes to work full-time in the investment management field upon graduation and eventually pursue a Master’s in Business Administration.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I feel incredibly honored to be selected as a recipient of the Robert D. and Margaret A. Wark Memorial Scholarship. I am extremely grateful to the Wark Family for their generosity in supporting my education. With this scholarship, I’m able to focus more time and effort on academic, professional, and extracurricular pursuits. I’m touched by the Wark Family’s giving values and hope to someday pay it forward to future generations of Bruins. In the meantime, I will strive to honor this recognition by continuing to work hard in the remainder of my time at UCLA and the start of my career.