Work hard/play hard has been the driving theme in the life of Ping
Yeh, ’99, M.S. ’01. While at UCSD, the mechanical engineering
student was a charter member of the Chancellor’s Organization
of Allied Students (COAST), earned the position as a starter
on the men’s tennis team and served as a mentor to teens
at the Preuss School. His campus leadership positions included
serving as founding trustee and later as president of the UCSD
Student Foundation and as president of the Triton Engineering Student
Council.
Yeh headed to Minneapolis after leaving UCSD and he continues to
be just as
engaged in his new community. Last year, Yeh earned an M.B.A. from
the Carson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.
While focusing on building his career at Seagate Technologies,
he also finds time to play the French horn with the
community band and is on the board of
the China AIDS Orphan Fund. And, despite the geographical distance,
Yeh has stayed
involved with UCSD as a life member of the Alumni Association and
by serving on the UC system-wide Committee on Educational Policy.
He has provided philanthropic
support for intercollegiate athletics, the Jacobs School of Engineering
and the Chancellor’s Fund for Excellence.
You’re so busy. How do you prioritize
your time?
Sometimes I can sense the urgency of a project and I like knowing
that I can help make a difference. I’ve also noticed that
a lot of what I’ve done has been tied to ducation—having
a good
education can make everything else possible.
What advice do you have for others who want to become more involved
in their community?
Just find out what resonates with your interests and be open to
new groups and new people because you never know where sources
of inspiration will come from. I have met great people—fascinating
people—because I have been willing to go out and try new
things.
Looking back, what did you learn about leadership while launching
the Student Foundation?
This was a start-up organization and getting it established was
really hands-on work—more so than any other experience I
had at UCSD. I learned a lot about being entrepreneurial and how
to delegate to and trust others.
What’s next?
I am all about work/life balance. I was just promoted to business
development manager at work, so that’s a new challenge
for me, but I’ll still be taking my wife out on dates!
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