Concordia Alumna at McKinsey: Braving with Ambition

By the age of 21, she had studied at three top universities on three different continents. By 24, she had been selected out of 260,000 candidates worldwide to shadow the CEO of a Fortune 500 company for a month. Now, at 29, she is a Vice President at McKinsey & Company. Sophia Lim, a Concordia class of 2013 alumna, has been hitting it out of the park with her pioneering spirit since graduating high school.

Sophia Lim

McKinsey & Company, Vice President

USC, HKUST, and Bocconi Class of 2017

Concordia Class of 2013

 

Sophia’s pioneering spirit has driven her to accomplish many “firsts.” She wrote and produced the first one-act play at Concordia. She brought home Concordia’s first (and second) ever APAC championship in basketball and badminton. She was the first Phoenix to make it to the NHD international finals in Washington, DC. And her accomplishments extend beyond her time in high school. In college, she was part of the first cohort of the World Bachelor in Business (WBB) program, a three-degree program offered by the University of Southern California (USC), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), and Bocconi University. It is these experiences that have shaped her into who she is today.

△ Sophia as the Adecco 2019 Global CEO for One Month

Growing Fast in the Face of Challenges

Working at McKinsey in London, Sophia advises companies from all over the world and collaborates with colleagues from diverse backgrounds and nationalities. With her international study experience during WBB, she is uniquely equipped with cross-cultural skills and is adaptable in various environments. WBB students spend at least one year of residence at each university—the first year at USC, the second year at HKUST, the third year at Bocconi, and the fourth year at any of the three universities.

    △ Sophia during her college sophomore year at HKUST

Her four years were not without challenges, but she threw herself into case competitions and internships, finding a community everywhere she went. After immersing herself in many different cultures, she has chosen a career path in management consulting, where she continues working with a diverse group of colleagues and clients. 

You’ve probably heard of McKinsey’s “up or out” principle—either you get promoted or you’re out. Sophia is not fazed by it. She stays humble, stays hungry, and five years in, she enjoys the learning and adventures of her job, while the frequent business trips also satisfy her love for traveling.

The Power of Education Behind the Highlights

From Deloitte to Adecco, and then to McKinsey, Sophia’s educational background is undoubtedly a plus for her high starting point in her career. But when it comes to why she was admitted to the WBB program at HKUST, Sophia believes that what set her apart was not her academic success, but rather her extracurricular activities during high school: the basketball and badminton teams, student council, National History Day competition, theater playwriting, and more. 

    △ HS Student Council group photo in 2013

The 11 years of growth at Concordia account for almost one-third of Sophia's life and memories. Teachers like Mr. Joe Klammer (science), Dr. Peter Tong (math), and Ms. Melinda Alford and Ms. Gloria Chandler (English) and many more staff come to mind. These people—and their support—helped build Sophia’s resilience and confidence. 

△ Sophia in her high school years

When Sophia first transferred to Concordia from a local school in Hong Kong (China), she struggled with English. In the fifth grade, Ms. Melinda Alford became the turning point in her English learning. Ms. Alford even offered two weeks of free tutoring over the summer. Sophia remembers that even though Ms. Alford’s classroom might look chaotic to the untrained eye—with foam trees in the reading corner to hide the obscure pillar in the room, to papier-mâché masks to resemble Egyptian gods, and to memorizing every country and capital in Europe—to her students, “she made me realize that learning can be so much fun!” 

In school, Sophia was interested in math, but was discouraged when she did not make honors pre-calculus. It was Dr. Peter Tong’s encouragement and guidance that helped her bounce back and regain her confidence. She still remembers his support fondly to this day. 

    △ Sophia with her family while in Shanghai

More than ten years later, we got in touch with Sophia again and heard her amazing story of navigating her career after high school. Her efforts and achievements are truly inspiring, and we couldn’t be prouder of her!   

 

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