Kat Yang (she/her)

MA:E Magazine

Kat is a third-year undergraduate student at the University of Michigan in the Ross School of Business, and she is originally from Northville, Michigan. Kat is studying entrepreneurship, and it was through an entrepreneurship class that she met Anabel Nam, Audrey Ling and Christine Park, co-founders of MA:E Magazine. MA:E Magazine is a publication and creative collective by and for the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) community. MA:E has released two editions of their magazine and produced a multitude of digital content including a blog, photoshoots, and social media content.

You can learn more about MA:E Magazine on their website, their instagram page, or their facebook page.

My first foray into the entrepreneurial sphere at U-Mich was coming up with the initial idea for MA:E in an Entrepreneurial Creativity class where I met my now-co-founders and close friends. Shortly after, we joined optiMize, and I really realized the joy of creating, entrepreneurship, and having a network of people who are also creating. The way optiMize is designed is very open - anyone who is interested in doing anything can come in - we talk about our processes, our ideas, we show off our products, and we get to learn what people are interested in! Finding that community of people who are driven to make an impact was really, really cool. It’s part of why my three co-founders and I all decided to declare minors in Entrepreneurship.   

What attracts me to optiMize is the sheer variety of ideas present, and people who participate, help out or are mentors. You just meet so many unique personalities, who have unique interests, and are a part of unique, targeted communities that you may not even know of. Just hearing them talk so passionately is always energizing and inspiring. You don’t even have to have an idea as long as you have something you care about deeply. That approachability was a huge factor.

MA:E grew so much throughout the spring - just in terms of our concept of who we are, our mission, who MA:E serves, and why we do what we do. And we really brought that to this new semester, which is really exciting. Being a part of the fellowship really ignited the trajectory of our project. We finally had a lot of time, a lot of guidance, and very targeted workshops each week. Of course, we encountered a couple challenges during the summer - but having the supportive network of peers was super helpful. I probably reached out to at least one mentor a week.

To those considering the Social Innovation Challenge, regardless of whether you come in with a team or solo, or whether you have an idea or not: go into the challenge with an open mind and a willingness to talk to, and listen to, other people. You don’t necessarily have to be a part of their project, but even just learning from others can really broaden your perspectives. It’s a very shareable space!