Raleigh Chuang

When Raleigh Chuang was deciding which business school to go to, one factor was non-negotiable: it had to be open-minded. As a person with dual citizenship who was educated across three continents, and whose work experience includes stints in Bangladesh and Vietnam, her path is unconventional yet ambitious. Her Masters in Management Merit (MiM) Scholarship Award – received with delighted surprise – is proof that her experience is celebrated at London Business School (LBS).

“At LBS, I knew that my efforts and background would be appreciated. They saw me as an individual,” she says. “If your profile is different from others, LBS and London will give you the feeling that being different is normal,” she says. “In the past, I’ve spoken to people who don’t understand why I went to Bangladesh. Here, one of the first people I met was a Bangladeshi MBA who had worked in the same field. I realised that this is the place I’m meant to be!”

Ultimately, Raleigh wants to dedicate her career to connecting the private sector to the social sector through working with developing countries. But in the shorter term, her curiosity, adaptability and energy have led her to consulting as a next step, in the hope of eventually equipping the social sector with some of the drive and ambition that come from attending a top business school. “I want to maximise the resources I gain from the private sector and what I will learn on the MiM to make the social sector better,” she says. “I want to help the private sector drive more social impact, and consulting would allow me to practice elements of my analytical and critical thinking that I could transfer to the social sector. I’m doing the MiM to gather all the tools I need to have a big impact on a larger scale.”

Meanwhile, over the next year, London will be her home and her playground, and she couldn’t be happier: “I love London,” she says. “You know you’re in a global city when you hear all the different accents, especially here at LBS!” So far, she’s been busy going to school events and meeting her cohort. “People aren’t as corporate as I thought”, she says. “I expected everyone would be talking about how much money they want to make, but here people are driven and ambitious in different ways. They care about leaving behind a legacy and making an impact.”