Hayley Yu was enjoying some well-earned down time in Vietnam when she got the email telling her that she was a finalist in the Women of Influence Awards Young Leader category. Rushing off to the beach with friends, she didn’t give it much thought until later in the day when she saw the list of her fellow nominees. “I’m completely humbled to be selected and it’s really inspirational to see what amazing work other young women are doing in New Zealand.”

Hayley graduated from the University of Auckland with conjoint BA/BCom degree. She combined study with being enthusiastically involved in the many other opportunities available to her at university. Hayley participated in the Velocity Innovation Challenge in 2016. Participating in this programme, administered by the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, was an experience that gave her valuable practice in the skill of being able to articulate entrepreneurial ideas.

“I think my university experience was made that much greater because I had joined clubs and made the most out of every opportunity. It really challenged my perspective on what impact I wanted to make in the world and where I wanted to go.”

While a high achieving student, Hayley started Social Innovation New Zealand and participated in opportunities such as Management Consulting Club, Auckland Microfinance Initiative and the Microsoft Imagine Cup. This gave her plenty of time to explore ideas and find her passions.

Hayley currently works in a product marketing role at Microsoft and is passionate about getting more girls into tech through being actively involved in an initiative called DigiGirls.

Her advice to students is this “get involved – join as many clubs as possible, network in areas that you’re passionate about and put yourself out there.” She adds “University is the time where you can explore everything and create the future you want!”