No Pains No Gains with Sammi Sun
Sammi Sun, MBA/16, was working in Shanghai when a colleague told her about Carleton’s MBA program at Donghua University. It had always been Sammi’s intention to pursue an MBA after gaining some work experience. Out of her undergraduate degree, she became a buyer for Motorola, then worked as a supply chain manager at industrial manufacturer Gardner Denver for over 10 years before moving to the construction technology firm, Hilti Group, where she now works as the team lead- supply.
Sammi compared Carleton’s MBA program to the others in Shanghai and chose it because the classes were offered on weekends and the program was in English. She said presentation skills, working as a team and analytic skills were some of the top skills she took away from the program.
“At work we often need to present to the audience, to the team or to our bosses. So I think my presentation skills have been improved through the MBA program,” Sammi shared. “Number two is team work. In group presentations, you’ll be assigned into a group, then you have to work with your teammates, and everyone has a different background. You have to understand the strengths and weakness of your team members, so you can work with them closely and understand each other.”
Being able to study in English was important to Sammi because she speaks English every day in her job at Hilti Group. Working for a European company, Sammi recognized the importance of developing her language skills through the MBA program.
Sammi graduated from the program with top honours, while also working full-time. She said that it is impossible to perfectly balance work, MBA studies and personal life, but that it comes down to how you prioritize your time and tasks. Sammi took advantage of the small free periods of time in the day to study or do homework.
“Time management is of the upmost importance. Time is very limited. So we have to use the time or manage time wisely and efficiently,” Sammi advised.
“Don’t ignore the small times. You may not have two or three hours that you can fully concentrate for study but you can use the small times – 15 minutes or 10 minutes – to work or study.
Sammi was also taught that multitasking does not exist—the brain can only focus on one thing at a time. “That means you have to concentrate on what you’re doing at one time. So when you are studying, then you have to forget about the drama in life, or some bad experience at work, or the argument with your colleagues. When you study, you just study. Concentrate. Then when you work, you forget about study and you forget about the things that are not important,” said Sammi.
She attributes graduating at the top of her class to hard work and not being afraid of failure.
“I believe in no pains, no gains. You have to work hard so that you can achieve your goals,” said Sammi. “I’m not afraid of failure. I always want to try. Even if I fail, I will try it again until I succeed. I believe in mind power very much so I think that mindset is very important.”
Learn about the MBA in Shanghai here: Sprott MBA Shanghai