I was born and raised in China, and I received my Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University in Operations Research and Information Engineering. After graduating from college, I was working as an applied OR consultant at McKinsey for three years, based in Boston. I graduated with my SM degree at the ORC in 2022. While at the ORC, I had the honor to work with Professor Robert Freund and Professor Duncan Simester, focusing on mixed-integer optimization modeling applied to fairness in marketing problems.

As someone who has found her passion in OR since freshman year in college, I knew that I wanted to come back for an advanced degree in OR, even though I chose industry right after graduation. MIT ORC has always been the dream program for me. In addition to being a top OR program in NA, ORC also has the right balance between cutting-edge research expanding the frontier of knowledge, while still aiming to create tangible impacts in the real world. More importantly, the SM program was such a unique 2-year program offered by ORC, where students can get a taste of conducting rigorous research in the limited timeframe. For many of my fellow SM students, this program introduced them to the academic world, and they decided to continue with the PhD program at ORC. I highly recommend this program to anyone who is interested in OR, but not sure about committing for a full doctoral degree. Personally, I was able to take the doctoral level courses during the my two years at ORC. This education enabled me to find job positions that really apply the advanced technologies in OR, building advance mixed-integer optimization models for logistic applications at Shopify.

Another aspect that really made ORC a unique place for me was the people. It really is a family-like environment, and I can’t stress enough how heart-warming this community has been. During my two years here, I had the opportunity to serve as an INFORMS officer (which is essentially some kind of social-organizing committee for the ORC). This experience allowed me to understand how much effort the ORC put in to foster the close and welcoming community for everyone. Everything from the ORC Open House, to holiday dinners, to annual student retreat, and countless happy hours and festive celebrations. It was such a fun experience helping to plan the events behind the scene! Just like me, you would almost certainly meet some life-long friends here, in this highly-diverse community.

Again, my two years at MIT ORC has been nothing but amazing. I highly recommend perspective students to come the Open House, and talk to as many current students and faculties as possible. They can certainly share they experiences at the ORC, and help you understand the research and student life here.