Lucia's Blog

I always knew I was going to be an artist growing up. I would spend hours every day drawing the world I saw around me and the world I imagined. I would reimagine the house I lived in– designing new rooms and that you could only travel to through waterslides and secret portals. I began taking art more seriously as I reached high school. I enrolled in an intensive program at the Rhode Island School of Design, where I fell in love with the intersection of design concepts, architecture, and urban design. From there, I knew I wanted to pursue design in college which led me to Roski, the school of art and design, at USC. As a senior looking back with a job in real estate private equity lined up, I feel like I failed my childhood dream. After the first few weeks at Roski, I transferred to Marshall. It was a mix between not liking the classes and the second-generation immigrant guilt that led me into business.  Despite putting art on the side as a hobby now, I found a new way to pursue my ...

I went to see the opera this past Wednesday at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and it’s all I can think about now. My friend was performing in the show as the youngest member to ever join the LA Opera, so I was beyond excited to support him. Although I have never been to an opera before, I thought I knew what to expect since I’ve been to plenty of shows, musicals, and choir concerts, but the production, story, and vocals combined was something totally different. Omar is the story of a man’s physical and spiritual journey, referencing his own autobiography of his experience as an enslaved Muslim. The story starts out in West Africa where Omar is captured and forced aboard a ship set for Charleston. The change of scenery was so powerful- the entire stage transformed from a sunny community to a solo journey where Omar couldn’t understand the language everyone around him was speaking. Throughout his tumultuous journey, Omar is haunted by past memories, often reflecting upon his faith and qu...

Can unconscious bias be measured? Part two of  The Person You Mean To Be: How Good People Fight Bias,   by Dolly Chugh,  takes us further into how to recognize unconcious biases and how to act against them. One way to measure unconcious bias is through an Implicit Association Test. Developed by Harvard psychologistss, the test asks that you react as quickly as possible to a series a questions that reveal your unconscious associations. The test was very telling, as even the open-minded participants were surprised by their results. For example, around 75% of all participants showed conservative-minded bias by strongly associating women to household activities and men with career/working. I like how Chugh went through extensive research to back up her claims of how even good people struggle with biases. Another chapter that I found interesting brings up how people can accept that one group is disadvantaged while disregarding the advantages they had. Studies showed that White...

 My second book is The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight Bias , by Dolly Chugh. I found this book under the Best Books of 2018 for a Meaningful Life and was immediately drawn by the description. We can all think we are good people but many people inadvertently fall short of these ideals. I thought it was interesting how the author took an analytical stance on how to actively change the biases we always hope to avoid but can easily fall into. She uses research to develop strategies to counteract discrimination. I hope to adopt these strategies in my day to day life to counteract the unconcious biases I have. One of the first concepts discussed in the book is the growth mindset. Chugh explains how people who believe in the growth mindset rebound from mistakes, feel less of the need to be right, and can take responsibilities for wrongdoings. I like how she supported these claims by breaking down the case of documentary filmmaker Perrin Chiles. Chiles chose the subject of au...

  AMDP Investment Memo:  Pela     TO:                  Clark Hansen, CEO, AMDP FROM:           Lucia Shao, R&D, AMDP DATE:             October 21, 2022 SUBJECT:      Investment Consideration –  Pela   As a member of the Research and Development Department, I have spent time analyzing the company, Pela, to see if it aligns with our values of conducting business in a socially responsible, environmentally sustainable, and profitable manner. With these factors in mind, I recommend investing in Pela. Pela is an everyday product brand specializing in 100% compostable cases and tech accessories. Using sustainable sourcing and new technologies, Pela is committed to creating a waste free future.   AMDP Investment Standards  Outlined bel...

  American Like Me , edited by America Ferrera   “American Like Me” was an eye-opening read about the nuances of growing up between different cultures in America. Ferrera sets the tone of the book by providing anecdotes of the prejudice she faced growing up, and how she persevered to become an actress who wasn’t boxed into latino stereotypes. After the first post, I was excited to continue reading other prominent figures’ stories. I was surprised to find so many similarities across people of different backgrounds surrouding their experience with their name, food, and school. Many of the authors struggled with their identity and faced judgement with their name, the food they brought to lunch, and simply existing as a non-white person.   One of the stories that stood out to me was from Reshma Saujani who founded Girls Who Code and ran for Congress. I did a Girls Who Code program one summer but had no idea who the founder was and what her story was about. I was horrified to ...

  How to Reach 100 Secrets from the world’s longest-lived people   Last week, I celebrated my 21 st  birthday. All my life I’ve been waiting to experience this rite of passage into adulthood.  Turning 21 means that I can finally use my ID to hit a bar crawl, buy expensive cocktails, or get a pilot’s license if I wanted to. So when the moment came and the bouncer looked at my eager face then down at my REAL ID and back to my face… he handed back my liscense with a “Happy Birthday!” and let me through. Immediately, I felt old.    I never gave aging much thought. But as I sipped on my martini, I couldn’t help but think about the terrible hangover and back pain I was going to wake up with tomorrow. I just turned 21, but how will I make it 100?   Thankfully, Dan helped me answer that question. What started out as a National Geographic expedition on researching longevity led Dan Buettner to discover the Blue Zones: 5 places in the world where people con...