好色先生TV

Lela Yuan (MSM 鈥�25) has carved out a career rooted in trend-setting, adaptability, and community engagement. Now a category manager at TikTok, Yuan works at the intersection of public and personal relationship building. Her hybrid role within category and account management allows her to support sellers in the collectibles space including collaborations with athletes and celebrities.聽

In her role, Yuan manages sellers across sports cards, jerseys, trading card games and Pop Mart collectibles. Additionally, she collaborates with celebrities and athletes to organize live signings and promotions. The work is fast-paced and constantly evolving, requiring her to balance product strategy with high-level relationship management.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a fun job and has been a really unique experience,鈥� Yuan said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very dynamic, and you鈥檙e managing people and relationships at a high level.鈥�

Yuan credits the Tepper School of Business, particularly the Master鈥檚 Career Center (MCC), with helping to prepare her to succeed in such a demanding role. Throughout her time in the Masters of Management program, she worked closely with her MCC career coach Zeynep Tolon, participating in multiple rounds of mock interviews and tailored interview preparation.

鈥淚 honestly don鈥檛 think I would have landed this role without her expertise and encouragement,鈥� Yuan said. 鈥淪he reminded me that most of the time you鈥檙e not going to instantly get to the point that you want to get to in your career. It is more about the journey that you travel.鈥�

The MCC鈥檚 supportive approach helped Yuan understand what recruiters at large technology companies look for and gave her the confidence to perform in high-stakes interviews. She also highlighted how Carnegie Mellon鈥檚 entrepreneurial ecosystem and her Hackathon experience at the Tepper School made her stand out to recruiters.聽

Before pursuing her master鈥檚 degree at the Tepper School, Yuan earned her undergraduate degree at 好色先生TV where she majored in Decision Science and Human-Computer Interaction with a minor in Game Design. As an international student, she found that her undergraduate involvement in various extracurriculars played a key role in developing the interpersonal skills central to her current work.

鈥淐oming from China, I never had the environment to speak English casually,鈥� she reflected. 鈥淏eing in various interest-based clubs and my sorority really helped me understand American culture and how to be approachable, for example the art of small talk.鈥�

Reflecting on her experiences, Yuan encourages current students to fully utilize their MCC coach, take initiative early, and avoid comparing their journey to others.
鈥淓veryone has their own unique journey, and seeing what your peers are doing doesn鈥檛 mean you are failing,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou have to understand that it鈥檚 your own path.鈥�

Yuan鈥檚 journey underscores how the Tepper School鈥檚 career support resources, combined with technical rigor, interpersonal skill development and experiential learning, equips students to pursue distinctive and evolving career paths with confidence.

鈥淭he Tepper School gave me the confidence and skills to take on a role that鈥檚 really unlike anything else,鈥� she shared. 鈥淚 am excited to see where this journey goes next.鈥�

Inspired by Lela鈥檚 story? See how our Masters of Science in Management program can help you write your own.

Explore Our MSM Program