Leah Shin

Husky 100 just a beginning

As with most Husky 100 recipients, the recognition for Leah Shin is just the beginning.

Still a year away from graduating from the University of Washington Bothell with degrees in Business Administration and in Interactive Media Design, Shin has boundless ambition to add to a list of accomplishments in college and beyond.

“I dream to be the first person in my family to earn an MBA,” said Shin. “In addition, I have set the issue of lack of diversity — and women specifically — in the marketing world as my lifelong mission to inspire change through action.”

Shin was elected 2018-19 president of the Associated Students of the University of Washington Bothell. As vice president last year, she worked to increase food options on campus.

As an Asian-American woman, Shin wants to help other students find their identity and embrace what makes them different as a strength, not a weakness. “I want to be a role model for students of color,” she said, and to foster more students to take on leadership roles.

Shin used the marketing and technology skills she’s learned to create a multimedia platform for Asian-American and Pacific Islanders called AAPI BeSpoken. It’s a partnership with students at nine colleges across the country.

Shin has interned at T-Mobile in product management and technology solutions and at Microsoft in marketing communications. With “hundreds” of startup ideas, Shin said she also wants “to use my fascination for business, technology and design to build products that make lives easier.”

A Bothell resident who commutes to campus, Shin chose UW Bothell for its location and for a combination of work and scholarships that will allow her to graduate debt-free. “Also, I fell in love with the class sizes and intimate campus. I realized quite early on that we’re a small but mighty campus,” she said. “There are so many opportunities for students to grow, learn and thrive.”

Shin continues to look for new roles where she can make a difference.

“That may be serving as a spokeswoman for students of color or providing educational resources or mentorship. I always want to work harder and do more every day.”