About Lillian: Lillian Fan (’23) is a first-year MBA student and native Angeleno. Prior to Anderson, Lillian worked as a consulting civil engineer in the aviation and defense industries. In her free time Lillian enjoys hiking/running, frequenting local boba shops, and playing escape rooms.
In the midst of the pandemic, like many others, I began considering pivoting careers. I was working as a civil engineer in the aviation/defense industries and wanted to pursue an impactful, consumer-facing role in the healthcare or tech industry. As I began my research into business schools, I remembered a friend posting about the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management and the racial justice initiatives her fellow peers in the Consortium led during their MBA experience and wanted to learn more.
As noted on their website, “the Consortium, the nation’s largest diversity network, links top-tier students, MBA programs, and corporate partners, providing merit-based scholarships.” Additional benefits include a streamlined application with reduced fees to many leading business schools and the Orientation Program, affectionately known as “OP,” where incoming students can recruit early for competitive internships. The Consortium’s mission is to “enhance diversity and inclusion in global business education and leadership by striving to reduce the significant underrepresentation of African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans in both our Member Schools’ enrollments and the ranks of global management.” However, the Consortium is not limited to those who identify under these groups; all U.S. citizens and permanent residents who demonstrate a commitment to the Consortium’s mission are encouraged to apply.
Applying to Anderson through the Consortium was the best decision I made in my journey to business school. In addition to the practical benefits of applying through the Consortium, being part of the Consortium community has transformed my experience at Anderson. Beginning in April, we started connecting with each other as we prepared for OP, bonding over the unique virtual recruiting experience and even meeting up locally during the conference. The 2022 Consortium students were passionate about welcoming us to Anderson and answering any questions we had about anything as we prepared to move to Los Angeles and start business school. From the first day of orientation, I felt comfortable stepping on campus seeing the “CFAM,” knowing that despite our diverse backgrounds, personalities, and recruiting goals, we were genuinely there for each other.
Throughout the year, we kept in constant communication with each other, sending each other homework reminders, sharing job postings and referral opportunities, nudging each other to get in a workout for the day, and getting in our weekly Taco Tuesdays. We supported each other’s goals in any way we could, from showing up to events to filling out market research surveys for case competitions. Even when multiple people were pursuing the same roles, we celebrated each other’s successes with no sense of jealousy or competition. Most importantly, we felt comfortable openly sharing our experiences and thoughts regarding racial injustice amongst our cohort and collectively strove to advance conversations and action surrounding these topics across Anderson within our clubs, classes, and activities.
I’m forever thankful to be part of the Consortium family at Anderson; this community has made my business school experience better than I could have imagined. I’m excited to witness the successes of my cohort in their careers and in their efforts to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion in businesses across the world.
Student Blogger: Lillian Fan ‘23
Undergrad: UC Berkeley, ‘16
Pre-MBA: Civil Engineer at Burns & McDonnell
Leadership@Anderson: Director of Admissions, Andertech; Director of Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion, Craft Beer Club