Student Profiles

Masashi Kawabata

Masashi Kawabata

Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
Anticipated graduation year: 2021
Degree: BS in business: finance track


Why did you choose the University of Rochester?

UR’s open curriculum was a huge factor of picking my academic institution. I had four other schools to choose my college, but all of them had a demanding academic curriculum. I personally wanted to explore various academic institutions, and the UR was perfect school for me. Writing 105 is the only class at the UR to require every student for a graduation requirement. Other than the writing class, it is up to you to pick your next semester courses!

Why did you choose the business major?

My father’s presence was a huge factor of pursuing Business major. I got inspired by his decisiveness, leadership and work ethic from serving the top Japanese bank in the US. I was not sure about my decision at first, but I value both hard and soft skills which business major would develop both skills. I am interested developing proficiency on multiple applications to determine quantitative data; but also communicative skills to present in front of an audience to deliver a message.

What has been your favorite undergraduate Simon Business School course and why?

My favorite undergraduate business course was MKT 203 with professor Hope. He was the first professor to teach me the fundamentals of running a business. We had a big project of hypothetically creating a company with full details (including financial statements). I was the quantitative analyst in my team, but the responsibilities were real life scenarios such as collecting 100+ survey data from the UR students to determine the target market for our drone delivery service company. It arose my interest of how specific I had to analyze information to determine our target market who would most likely to be our user.

What are your activities outside of class?

Outside of my academics, I am a member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. The fraternity is a place for me to connect with a diverse group of friends on deeper level, which reminisces my boarding school experience back in high school.

In my leisure time, I enjoy playing pickup soccer and taking photos using my Nikon D3300 Camera. The pickup soccer is great method to interact with other students, builds the competency of working together as a team.

Have you done an internship?

Yes, I was fortunate enough to receive an internship as a sophomore this summer. I interned at the Treasury department for Bunge Limited, it was extraordinary experience for me to get a hands-on work on multiple projects within the Finance industry. The internship has developed me a curiosity to take wide range of business courses, understanding how each class could be applied to the real-life situations.

What are your career goals?

My biggest yet challenging dream will be founding a NPO organization for future Japanese students to have an opportunity to pursue an education outside of Japan. Globalization is the shift occurring to the World; in order to solve real life problems, we must think outside of our perspective and be exposed to multi-environment cultures. Like my family has done for me, I would like to become the provider to financially assist students who have ambitious dreams to accomplish.

Favorite Rochester restaurant: My favorite restaurant in Rochester is “Sea Restaurant”. It serves a Vietnamese cuisine, I highly recommend trying the Pho! It is a perfect dish on snowing day in Rochester.

Favorite TV show: My favorite show is Planet Earth. This show always reminds me to be aware of climate change and how us humans affect the wildlife. It is our responsibility to make the World greener, and incentivize companies to sustainably operate.