“A doctor who brings the voices of doctors from the front lines to the board rooms.”
REPATRIATION: Manila, Philippines
Facility of yourself: I belong to the rare 1% of the Philippines who cannot bear a third-grade minder suggested diplomatic to join the cooking club instead of the choir. Determined to make music still somewhat, I learned to play piano, cello and guitar. Now I’m always on the field … (as long as I’m playing, not singing).
University and main school:
- Doctor of Medicine (MD), Medical College of the University of Philippines
- BS Psychology, University of Philippines Diman
Latest Employer and Work Title: Ayala Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (AC Health), Corporate Strategy and Development Assistant
Makes make the issue method so attractive as a means of learning and making a better manager? In medicine, we are trained to combine difficult data with active hearing – because a patient’s story is as essential as the numbers printed on their lab results. Similarly, the case method points out that large managers should also be excellent listeners. While your initial analysis may seem clear, the variety of prospects from 90+ classmates often reveals blind points in your thinking, teaching you that the best understanding comes from learning to hear.
The method of the issue simulates the real -world decision -making, where the right answer is not always clear. This trains you to synthesize different views and frames in the flight, teaching you to articulate your position clearly while remaining humble enough to change the course when presented with persuasive counterarguments.
For me, the most valuable aspect is the safe space it creates for intellectual donation and acquisition. I have seen how the quietest voices often keep the deepest knowledge. This dynamic not only expands your worldview, but transforms abstract concepts into action strategies, just as you go through the teaching of the textbook in the care of patients in medicine.
In addition to your classmates and cases, what was the main part of the Harvard Business School Programming that pushed you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? HBS’s mission to educate leaders who make a difference resonate deeply with me. As a physician in the Philippines, I proved how health results depend on more than just clinical care – they are formed by systems, resources and access.
While it was a difficult decision to get away from the patient’s direct care, I saw an urgent need to help transform systems that form health care. I believed that HBS, with its emphasis on developing deliberate leaders, would help me understand how to create this impact on the scale.
What kindly attracted me to HBS is her belief that business can be a strength for good. In developing markets, where the innovation and resources of the private sector often fill critical gaps, this mentality is transformer. School concentration in developing leaders that can promote significant changes when building sustainable financial solutions, provides exactly the foundation I need to address the complex health care challenges that I hope to solve one day.
The course, club, or activity harass you more at the Harvard Business School? I am counting the days to the stone of the global diving on the ground this spring! The program sends us first year students to work on projects with local companies in 14 different countries. As soon as I learned about this year’s destinations, I am particularly excited about the possibility of working in South America – a continent I have never visited.
Field perfectly catches what attracted me to HBS-the disease to apply and contextualize classroom teaching in real world situations. What makes it even more special is the chance to work with classmates outside my section. Then the type of learning experience, which pushes you out of your comfort zone as you tell you how much you have learned and grows throughout the year.
When you think about Harvard Business School, what is the first word that comes to your mind? Why?
On purpose. Whereas HBS offers unlimited opportunities – from enriching academic courses and conferences to countless social events up to different professional paths – the true value does not stand in trying to do everything, but in the purpose. The school provides extraordinary resources in every dimension, but it is up to each student to design their significant journey.
HBS is not meant to be the peak of one’s career, but rather a pillow for thoughtful growth. Success here does not necessarily have to maximize every moment of awakening or to meet absolutely everyone, but to be deliberate with your choices – recognizing your north star and choosing experiences that match your goal. It’s about realizing that these two years are just the beginning of a longer trip, and making conscious decisions on how to use this wonderful springboard better.
Seeing your recruitment, what was the moment you understood the Harvard Business School was the right program for you? Why? I realized that HBS was the right program for me during my interview. By strictly studying my request, my interviewer asked questions adapted with thoughts that made me reflect more deeply on my experiences and trips. As I had heard of the rapid nature of HBS interviews, I felt more like an attractive-life conversation that celebrated where I would be discovering where I could go to HBS.
As I shared my stories, I realized that this was a brief representation of the method of the matter in action – a space where individual voices and experiences matter. Despite my non-traditional business descent and introvert trends, the interview showed me how I could make meaningful contributions to the classroom. Attempting the interview process in itself spoke volumes about HBS’s commitment to carefully cure a class where there is every unique perspective, and I knew then that it was exactly where I was supposed to be.
Describe your greatest achievement in your career so far: In the last 6 months of my mandate in AC Health, I had the privilege to direct the creation of the first catheterization laboratory of our hospital network – a specialized specialized structure for treating heart attacks and other cardiovascular emergencies. As a project manager, I left my strategy comfort zone to lead an inter-functional team through the construction, procurement and development of the protocol, often being the only woman and doctor in our technical discussions. Despite the challenges of learning everything from construction time limits to engineering requirements, we successfully inaugurated the Cath Laboratory this July, immediately before I left for HBS!
The success of the project opened up an opportunity to create even greater impact. Working closely with our main strategy and investment official and the main cardiologists of our network, we developed a compelling occasion to expand this project to a full heart and vascular care center. Ensuring C-SUITE approval for this great expansion was particularly important to me because it proved how the clinical needs and business strategy can transform the distribution of health care for good.
Describe your biggest achievement as a MBA student so far? When I started my journey to HBS, getting into a class filled with some of the most brilliant and accomplished individuals I have ever met, Imposter syndrome could not help but screw. But at the beginning of the semester, during our class of technology and operations management, a key moment changed this perspective.
We were discussing a case about the Covid-19 response of a large hospital, with the main protagonist of the Hospital Operational Chief present in our section class. By drawing from my experience, I found myself asking naturally about buying a doctor for operational changes, especially in the systems involved in inheritance practices. Later, my professor sent email with encouraging feedback, noting how my penetration had captured one of the critical dilemmas of the matter. This moment helped me crystallize how my background in medicine can bring valuable prospects for our discussions, whether it is explaining the complications of drug prices or linking the challenges of providing health care in developing countries with global business issues. My biggest achievement has been to find the confidence to take my place at the table and the belief that my voice belongs to here- not only for myself, but to represent the prospects of first-line workers and undeserved communities.
Advice what advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission to the Harvard Business MBA program? My tips are simple but sincere – to be unfounded themselves. Do not create answers that you think admissions want to hear. Instead, use the application process as an opportunity for proper self-reflection. I saw it almost therapeutic, helping me put my journey in perspective – from the early days of the medical school to my transition to the health care strategy.
The application process requires you to both celebrate how far you have come and table where you want to go. Take the time to identify your northern star – whether this is a cause you are passionate about, a community you want to serve, or a change you want to create in the world – and reflect how HBS fits into that trip. When writing from this place of authenticity and consciousness, your true passion naturally shines.