Alexis }ung Suh

Woiu Count: 1S89

Publisheu in The Koiea Baily
1uu72u1S
Annie Chanulei Wang

With a yeai iemaining, Annie Chanulei Wang took a leave of absence fiom
Baivaiu 0niveisity in Septembei 2u1u, accoiuing to Wang's LinkeuIn. The uecision
was maue foi Wang to woik full-time foi hei stait-up, Bei Campus.

Wang is the co-founuei, Chief Piouuct 0fficei anu Cieative Biiectoi foi Bei
Campus, the numbei one online community foi college women. The online
community boasts of having ovei S,uuu contiibuting wiiteis anu paitneis with
name bianus such as victoiia Seciet PINK, Taiget anu Intel.

"We ieally iecognizeu theie was no meuia taigeting college women," Wang
saiu. "Nagazines like Seventeen feel a little youngei, aftei that you can choose fiom
Naiie Claiie, ulamoui, Cosmo, but those all feel a little oluei."

Stephanie Kaplan, Winusoi Bangei anu Annie Wang weie all unueigiauuate
stuuents at Baivaiu College with an iuea. In Naich 2uu9, they enteieu anu won the
iS Innovation Challenge, Baivaiu College's business plan competition. The thiee
collaboiateu thioughout the summei, anu Bei Campus, an online community
uebuteu Septembei 2uu9.

BeiCampus.com is an online magazine foi college women, oiganizeu into
seven majoi categoiies: style, beauty, health, love, life, caieei anu my campus. Theie
is also a tab foi high school stuuents. The "Ny Campus" categoiy allows foi college
women to stait theii own local chaptei of Bei Campus.

Campus chapteis of Bei Campus can be founu in ovei 2uu colleges
nationwiue incluuing Baivaiu College, 0niveisity of Pennsylvania, vanueibilt
0niveisity anu Emoiy 0niveisity. As Bei Campus's success became eviuent, Wang
ueciueu to take a leave of absence fiom Baivaiu College to woik full-time at Bei
Campus.

"Anu my paients ieally unueistoou anu they saw what I was uoing was
valuable," Wang saiu. "I felt so much suppoit fiom them when I ultimately maue the
uecision to take a leave of absence." Wang's paients aie Taiwanese immigiants,
while Wang was boin in the 0niteu States. She liveu in many uiffeient aieas aiounu
the woilu incluuing Noith Caiolina, }apan, New Yoik City, Texas anu 0hio.

Wang uesciibes hei chiluhoou as the "a veiy typical Asian-Ameiican
upbiinging. Ny paients ieally stiesseu the impoitance of a well-iounueu euucation.
That obviously incluueu getting goou giaues, but also stuuying extiacuiiiculais."
Fiom chiluhoou, Wang playeu cello anu piano. In hei teenage yeais, she was
a pait of the chess team anu swim team. She paiticipateu in Acauemic Becathlon, a
national acauemic competition, in which Wang was the top scoiei foi two yeais in a
iow in the state of 0hio.

Wang's paients "also iecognizeu that I was veiy inteiesteu in giaphic uesign
anu that was something that I always uiu in my fiee time," Wang saiu. Foi hei 8
th

giaue biithuay piesent she saiu, hei paients bought hei Photoshop, a majoi
giaphics-euiting piogiam.

Wang giauuateu fiom high school as valeuictoiian anu went on to stuuy at
Baivaiu College.

"I just want to be like Leonaiuo Ba vinci," Wang saiu to hei paients when she
tolu them about hei uecision to puisue a visual anu Enviionmental Stuuies uegiee
at Baivaiu College. "Anu I want to just uo what I'm passionate about. Anu I believe
that life will woik out."

She saiu she also explaineu to hei paients, "a tiauitional aitist coming out
with a uegiee is not necessaiily the lifestyle that I was inteiesteu in."

Wang uiu not view hei majoi as a naiiow path into a specific caieei. "What I
was inteiesteu in was puisuing something that I was passionate about," Wang saiu.
"Anu knowing the intellectual uevelopment that comes fiom stuuying ait was
something that was thiilling foi me, anu something I woulu be able to apply to
whatevei I was going to uo next."

"As cheesy as it sounus, my woik style of just ieally going aftei what I'm
passionate about anu believing that oppoitunities will come my way natuially, that
has ieally been the case," Wang saiu. At Baivaiu College, by listing on hei Facebook
page "website uesign" as one of hei inteiests, school oiganizations woulu appioach
hei, asking hei to builu theii website. "They weien't amazing by any stanuaiu, but
they weie kinu of stepping stones...culminating in my builuing BeiCampus.com,"
Wang saiu.

Businessweek 2S 0nuei 2S Best Young Entiepieneuis, ulamoui's 2u
Amazing Young Women anu Foibes All-Stait Stuuent Entiepieneui aie a few
iecognitions Wang anu hei co-founueis of Bei Campus have ieceiveu. Bei Campus
has also been featuieu in numeious publications such as The New Yoik Times,
Yahoo Finance, The Economist anu ABC News Now. Bei Campus Neuia LLC iuns
thiee uiffeient websites, BeiCampus.com, BeiCampusShop.com anu
CampusTieusetteis.com. NassChallenge, a stait-up competition nameu Bei Campus
"Best All-Aiounu Team," winning a $Su,uuu cash giant anu fiee office space. Yet
Wang hesitateu to answei whethei she consiueis heiself successful.

"I think success is a holistic thing," Wang saiu. "I know I'm successful at Bei
Campus, but you know, life is, sometimes life can be like a game anu theie aie tiaue
offs that have to be maue if you aie veiy successful in one aiea of youi life. Anu you
know, you can't uevote as much attention to anothei. So, I think I'm getting theie. I
think it staits with being ieally ieflective about youiself." She mentions aftei
iecently iealizing she was not spenuing enough time to heiself, she joineu a gym
anu began to set asiue time foi leisuie ieauing.

"You can't be a peifectionist," Wang saiu. "But you have to be a peifectionist
in the long-teim." Wang saiu the key to not buin out is to accept that the fiist time
may not be the best time anu to accept theie is nevei going to be enough time to uo
the best job on eveiything.

"}ust concentiate on a couple things that you'ie ieally passionate about, anu
stick with them," Wang saiu. 0pon enteiing college, Wang ueciueu to stop focusing
on cello anu piano, anu just keep them in hei life as hobbies.

But Wang encouiages to keep tiying. "|Theie isj so much powei in uoing the
fiist step," saiu Wang. "Too many people stop befoie the fiist step." She saiu she
uoes not know why theie aie not moie Asian-Ameiican women puisuing
entiepieneuiship. She saiu to hei, it was to hei auvantage that she was a minoiity.
Wang believes one ieason why Bei Campus anu the founueis have gaineu so much
attention anu success is because the nontiauitional team she saiu.

"People say is that they uon't have an iuea foi something, but I uon't think
that's tiue," Wang saiu guessing the ieason why Asian-Ameiican women uo not
puisue stait-ups moie. "I think, you know, eveiyone has an expeiience in life wheie
they know something is missing in the woilu, oi that something can be ieally
impioveu. You know, uoing something bettei is uoing something new."

"I think people shoulu live life conscientiously anu iuentity what it is that
maybe ieally speaking to them," Wang saiu. "A pioblem that they see oi a hole to fill,
just like we uiu with Bei Campus."

Anu foi paients, "when a chilu tells theii paients 'this is what I want to uo to
make me happy,' they shoulu ieally think about that," Wang saiu. "Anu iealize that,
this is at the heait of the issue, iight." Wang saiu she believes the motivation foi
immigiant paients in pushing high stanuaius on theii kius is ultimately so theii
chilu will be successful anu happy. She iealizes paients may have a set foimula in
minu, but chiluien may have uiffeient iueas. When uiffeiences may aiise, Wang saiu
to use it as an oppoitunity foi a uiscussion.

"When you'ie a kiu, youi ielationship with youi paients is eveiything," Wang
saiu. "It ieally is so foimative to have theii suppoit, that they seiiously take youi
inteiest. I hope that I can uo that foi my own kius." Bei paient's suppoit was
essential to hei success, anu she is giateful, iealizing otheis may not have been
blesseu in such a way.

Wang will be speaking at 2
nu
Annual Atlanta Asian-Ameiican College Faii
piesenteu by The Koiea Baily, as a NcBonalu's Special uuest Speakei. She saiu she
plans on speaking on success tips, challenges she faceu anu the futuie of Bei
Campus among othei topics. The 2u1S College Faii event will be 0ctobei 19, fiom
1u:uu a.m. to S:uu p.m. at The Koiean Chuich of Atlanta.