Linda Wu, DO
Dear Olin family, so happy to spend this last month of my MBA with you. My Olin journey has been 4 years in the making (PMBA 48) and I have so many great memories. I’m grateful to have embarked on this journey, and like most things in my life, I did not see this coming.
I grew up in four countries (China, Sweden, Canada, and the U.S.) and have lived in 15+ cities. Clearly, my lack of commitment to one location also transmitted into my career. I started out with a Systems Design Engineering degree from the University of Waterloo, Canada (yes, I am Canadian! 🍁). My love for working with people led me to become a Human Factors Engineer. At that time, I had no interest in becoming a doctor, seemed like too much memorization for someone who used to derive equations during an exam instead of remembering them. However, my passion for improving the lives of those in my community led me to study osteopathic medicine (DO) at the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. I then completed my pediatric residency with a global health track at Emory in Atlanta. For my life mission I would love to serve the pediatric population around the world, but to pay my bills I took a job here at WashU. I currently work as Assistant Professor and pediatrician at St. Louis Children’s Hospital seeing kids in the hospital, ER, and babies in the nursery.
After my seven-year medical education stint, I became restless. I loved innovating new solutions but didn’t have leads in the medical entrepreneurship community. I initially thought MBAs were used for ladder climbing, but decided I needed some business skills to work in start-ups. Thus, under the peer pressure of the recruiter, Joe, I applied to the MBA program without a clear goal to finish (to be honest). However, the MBA life took me by surprise. I love the people and community, the emphasis on collegiality and diversity, and the material was super fascinating. Thus, I decided to keep learning! And those that know me will chuckle as I’m known as the MBA who’s still around despite having met my graduation credit requirements.) My journey at Olin has truly been the best ride of my life. Over the past 1.5 years I’ve been able to learn so much about innovation and entrepreneurship and have under the encouragement of Olin professors founded my medical device startup.
Although May is my last month as an Olin student, I hope to continue my relationship here as a professor. With the help of my MBA, I’ve been able to land an adjunct teaching position at Olin, the Innovation Pathway Lead at the School of Medicine (co-teach medical students with THE Doug Villhard), and the MD/MBA program liaison. So, maybe my assumption that MBA degrees are used for ladder climbing isn’t too far off. 😋 In all seriousness, I cannot thank Olin and all their faculty and staff enough for your kindness and support. And to all my classmates and friends, for having put up with me for four years despite that I could have graduated. So where will you find me the summer post-graduation? The Skandalaris Center working on my startup, MiDoc. 🙂
My hobbies include learning about other cultures and exploring the world, skiing, swimming, and dancing. You may also find me at Viva come summer nights. My love for traveling and exploring led me to fly across the Atlantic Ocean to Naples, Italy to meet my now fiancé for our first in-person date. For those from military families, you may appreciate that he is currently the captain of a nuclear ballistic missile submarine (USS Alabama – roll tide!).
As we graduate this month, please say hi if you see me on either campus and don’t hesitate to reach out for anything. I love WashU, Olin, and the family I have created here.
