Yahlin Chang ’89 was born in Taipei. When she was a young child, her father moved to Williamsport, Pennsylvania to join his extended family. He was a chef and worked in a Chinese restaurant owned by a family friend. Once their father was financially secure, Yahlin and her sister joined their father in Williamsport. It was the Christmas before Yahlin’s primary school graduation, and no one in the family spoke English.
From the age of 12 through 18, Yahlin navigated the challenges of attending public schools in American communities that were vastly different from that of Taiwan. Though she excelled in math and science, she struggled with reading and writing in English. With hours and hours of practice and the help of a language tutor, she slowly gained confidence and fluency in her new tongue.
Today, Yahlin has leveraged her strengths in math and science, her ability to master new challenges, and her deep insights into both traditional Chinese and contemporary American cultures to become a highly valued leader at Morgan Stanley. As managing director and head of technology for non-Japan Asia markets, she oversees Morgan Stanley’s technology division. Her portfolio is extensive and includes application development, enterprise infrastructure, cybersecurity, and technology risk functions.
I had to learn the ropes on my own. So, if there’s any way I can help another first-gen Cornell student, I will do it.
In 2022, Yahlin established a $250,000 scholarship to support a first-generation college student at Cornell, and she is now contemplating creating a second scholarship. Additionally, Yahlin mentors first-gen students through the President’s Council of Cornell Women (PCCW), which she joined in 2021. Yahlin has maintained close relationships with all her mentees throughout their Cornell years, and post-graduation.
Yahlin has risen to the pinnacle of her professional life. Now, she is committed to give back both her wisdom and her treasure to help other first-gen students like herself.
Learning the ropes in a new country
Yahlin and her sister were the first Chinese students to attend the local elementary school in Williamsport. She was not well acquainted with the English language or the customs of her new American home, and there were many mishaps as she learned the ropes.
For example, Yahlin recalls showing up for school on Thanksgiving, not knowing that it was a holiday.
“My classmates played a lot of pranks. For example, they would teach me a ‘dirty’ word, and I would repeat it in class, not knowing what it meant,” she recalls. “I guess this is what made me who I am. I learned to laugh things off, rather than get too bothered by the situation.”
Yahlin is proud of the independence and resilience she gained during those years.
As a teenager, Yahlin remembers hearing her father’s friend boast about his daughter who attended Cornell University. The adulation everyone had for a Cornell education deeply impressed Yahlin, and she was determined to follow in this woman’s footsteps.
“The father was so proud of his daughter. Within the Chinese community, he had bragging rights,” she observes. “For me, she became the face of success.” Yahlin wanted to make her father equally proud.
As a first-gen college student, Yahlin navigated the college admissions process on her own—successfully gaining admission and financial aid to attend the Cornell University College of Engineering.
Bringing the best of both worlds together
During her time at Cornell, Yahlin took many classes outside her major, including an Asian Studies class. This class gave her a new perspective on the history of Taiwan and on the treatment of the island’s Indigenous people, which somewhat contradicted Yahlin’s original beliefs.
“The class was eye-opening,” Yahlin says. “It allowed me to take a step back and ask myself, ‘Hey, wait a minute. What is right, and what is wrong?’”
Yahlin credits Cornell with teaching her to think critically about the world around her. To this day, she brings this perspective to bear—asking herself if she thinks what’s happening is right or wrong, or if what’s she’s hearing is true or false.
“During my four years at Cornell—because of the exposure to knowledge and critical thinking—I became a lot more aware and well-rounded,” Yahlin says.
Learning from her summer internship experiences, Yahlin realized that she wanted to use her STEM education in a way that allowed her to work with people (or end users).
Throughout her 30+ years at Morgan Stanley, Yahlin has leveraged her technical expertise to serve both internal and external clients—enabling them to do business. She also seeks to bridge the gap between Eastern and Western cultures, to bring the best of both value systems to her work.
Understanding that humility is an important Chinese virtue and that challenging superiors is not considered appropriate, Yahlin tries to help her Asian employees become more comfortable honestly sharing their thoughts.
“Our Chinese upbringing does not teach us how to speak up,” she notes. “Being visible and being able to articulate your thoughts are so important. In trying to cultivate the next generation of leaders, I encourage my team to think critically and develop their ‘soft’ skills, like the ability to communicate.”
Paying it forward
Yahlin shares that earning her Cornell degree was no small feat. At the end of her junior year (1988), her father declared bankruptcy after a downturn in the economy. The family expected Yahlin to come home and start work immediately. They could no longer afford Yahlin’s Cornell expenses—room and board, books, meals, etc.
Standing her ground, Yahlin decided she would finish her degree. She told her father that she would find a way to pay for her own expenses, and promised to help with the family expenditures once she graduated and could work full-time.
Yahlin worked multiple side jobs, borrowed money from her cousin and a Cornell friend, and managed to complete her senior year.
After graduation, she started work immediately, repaid her cousin and friend, and kept her promise to help her family. “To this day, I tell my cousin and my friend that I would not be where I am if they had not given me the money,” she says. Yahlin is forever grateful for their support when she needed it most.
Yahlin says that she never discussed with her family where she got the money, because she felt that finishing college was her decision and her responsibility. This grit has shaped Yahlin’s professional and personal life, bringing her enormous success and informing her advice for the next generation of Cornell students.
Yahlin relishes the opportunity to help first-gen students like herself find their voice and gain confidence. She also understands the impact of giving first-gen students access to the life-changing opportunities that a Cornell education affords them.
“I had to learn the ropes on my own,” Yahlin says. “So, if there’s any way I can help another first-gen Cornell student, I will do it.”
