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Connie ChaiConnie Chai

Daytime MBA | Class of 2016

 

For all intents and purposes, I was born and raised in Southern California, but I ended up spending seven years abroad in Hong Kong and Taiwan before the first grade. I attended Duke for my undergraduate career, double majoring in Biology and English—yes, I am a Double Dukie!

After graduating, I moved to Minneapolis to work for Target Corporation as a merchandise planning business analyst. Basically, I made sure that your Target store had garlic, tomatoes, avocados, potatoes, and onions in stock. Two years later, I transitioned to CVS Health (formerly CVS Caremark) in Rhode Island. I wanted to reconnect with the healthcare industry and jumped at the opportunity to learn more about the retail pharmacy industry. My interest in healthcare meshed well with Fuqua’s Health Sector Management (HSM) certificate, one of the top reasons I chose Fuqua. I’m excited to be able to combine classroom learning and experiential learning as I explore different career options in the healthcare industry.

Even though I was at Duke before, I am thrilled that Durham boasts so many great changes, from new restaurants and bakeries to robust farmers’ markets and music events. I love being able to return to old favorites and to discover new ones.

A few fun facts:

  1. I love to bake and keep a baking blog (www.easypeasybaking.tumblr.com).
  2. One of my goals is to run a half-marathon each year—my first one was Disney’s Princess Half-Marathon which I completed in a hot pink tutu.
  3. I road tripped to Indianapolis in 2010 to watch Duke win the NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship, and I can’t wait to be back in Cameron Indoor Stadium to cheer on the team!

Fuqua activities: Admissions Ambassador (that means I get to hang out in the admissions lounge talking to prospective students!), Association of Women in Business (AWIB), Healthcare Club, Graduate and Professional Schools Alumni Affairs committee, Golf Club, Culinary Club.

I'm spending the summer in between my first and second year interning at Genentech in San Francisco and absolutely loving the experience. In my second year, I'm looking forward to serving the Fuqua community through AWIB, Admissions and the broader graduate and professional schools community through Graduate and Professional Student Council.

 

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