UCLA Love Story: Maria and Jason

In honor of UCLA being in the Sweet 16, the true love story of Maria Fabregas-Iglesias ’23 and Jason Guo ’23, how they met, commuted, courted, and married–all during FEMBA!

My grandmother always told me, “If you want to catch a fish, you better go where the good fish are.” With over 125 different graduate programs, plus our amazing undergrads, UCLA attracts the best “fish”, the most talented, high-aspiration people from across the US and world. 

My way of expressing the personal possibilities to create lifelong friendships at UCLA is Hogwarts meets the United Nations, by which I mean the magic of Hogwarts + the global diversity of the United Nations. When you read Maria and Jason’s story, you’ll see the magic of an international love story, made here in the USA at UCLA. Go Bruins!

Maria and Jason’s Love Story

Maria and Jason: from Orange County to UCLA, commuting turned into courtship

Although Maria and Jason’s paths never crossed during their undergraduate studies in San Diego nor when they both relocated to Irvine, it was when they enrolled in the UCLA MBA program in 2020 that their lives ultimately intertwined. The pandemic kept them apart for a while, but when they finally met in person in the summer of 2021, they quickly became close friends.

Living in Irvine, Maria and Jason found themselves carpooling to school events and gatherings. Jason, normally selfless and eager to help others, deliberately declined to include others in their carpool. He wanted Maria to know he was pursuing her. Luckily, Maria consistently asked to carpool with Jason, and he was more than happy to oblige.

During their long drives to and from UCLA, they enjoyed quality time together and truly got to know each other. They shared many interests, especially in regards to finances and investments. They found common ground in their love for Disney but had one major difference: Maria was devoted to Apple products while Jason was an avid Windows and Android user. This led to a choppy texting experience between their devices. However, Maria quickly suggested WhatsApp to bridge the gap, and Jason absolutely loved Maria’s sense of practicality and problem solving.

As the end of 2021 approached, Jason found himself captivated by a Formula One race. He was a diehard Red Bull fan and watched in awe as his favorite driver Max Verstappen won the championship. Overcome with emotion, Jason knew it was time to take a chance and ask Maria out. To his delight, she agreed. Even more, she asked him what had taken him so long!

Their first date was delayed until mid-January 2022 because Maria was visiting her sister in Spain, but Maria and Jason wasted no time in deepening their connection. Within the first week of dating, they met each other’s parents; within the second, their parents had met each other. Soon after, Jason asked Maria’s parents for their permission to marry Maria, and with their blessing, Jason quickly bought a ring and proposed just a month after they began dating.

Maria and Jason had an intimate civil wedding in May, surrounded by their closest family members. Their friends and classmates were both shocked and unsurprised by the quick progression of their relationship. Funnily enough, their parents were completely unfazed, already inquiring about future grandchildren.

Maria and Jason’s love story had begun in January, led to an engagement in February, and culminated in marriage by May of the same year. This is the level of productivity you would expect out of UCLA Anderson MBA students!

Maria’s perspective:

Coming to UCLA Anderson, I knew I would encounter like-minded people and learn from talented professors. Little did I realize that I would also meet the love of my life and so much more. Since day one, I felt at home at UCLA, and developing friendships came naturally. When I met Jason, I thought it was too unreal to be true. Juggling a demanding job, lofty aspirations, and school is no easy feat; I never imagined I would find time for dating as well. The idea of meeting someone who understood the pursuit of an ambitious career seemed unfathomable to me. Jason not only understood but also shared my goals, constantly encouraging me to do what was best for myself. Fortunately for me, he was what was right for me! Saying yes to his proposal was the easiest decision I ever made. Having my classmate as my partner and support system has been amazing as he always empathizes with my experiences.

Jason’s perspective:

I always knew that I wanted a business partner in a wife. Maria shares my curiosity and empathy, and I adore her genuine kindness and care towards others. Her ambition, intuition, and intelligence make her an amazing companion, and we could talk for hours without getting bored. Whether we accomplish 100 tasks or none at all, spending time with her never feels like a waste of time. What is even more exciting is that we share the same entrepreneurial mindset, with an equal amount of caution. We are both passionate about building something amazing together, and I know that we are going to accomplish great things. I am so grateful to have found my business partner in life, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us! Maria is my type, and I love her so much.

Who is Maria Fabregas-Iglesias ’23?

Maria pursued her undergraduate degree in economics at UCSD. She then became an associate at Goldman Sachs where she continues to work. She decided to pursue her MBA at UCLA to accelerate her career and acquire the technical skills she knew would facilitate her growth. Maria enjoys traveling, especially to visit her family in Mexico and her sister in Spain. She is bilingual and is now learning Mandarin Chinese in preparation for visiting Jason’s family in China! UCLA Anderson has taught her that one’s network is of paramount importance.
Maria on LinkedIn

Who is Jason Guo ’23?

Jason holds finance and accounting degrees from the University of San Diego. He began his career in tax, gaining M&A experience and assisting with company restructuring, digital implementations, and long-term strategizing. Jason later shifted to real estate investments and is currently pursuing an MBA from UCLA to expand his knowledge and network, joining 17 clubs and attending countless events. Jason looks forward to pivoting into technology after graduating from UCLA and appreciates all the support from the faculty and his classmates. Most of all, he found Maria, the love of his life. Even more, Maria’s family in Mexico and Spain also love Formula One!
Jason on LinkedIn

Jason Guo and Maria Fabregas-Iglesias

When you know, you know

Life is better with a best friend.
Happy journeys Maria and Jason.
Oh, the places you’ll go!

From Warren Buffet to Chief Quality Officer: Meet Dr. Nasim Afsar ’17

Get inspired and learn best practices from Dr. Nasim Afsar-manesh FEMBA ’17 in this Drive Time podcast interview. Nasim is the Chief Quality Officer for UCLA Health. As an MD and a hospital executive, she is accountable for over 100,000 patients who receive their primary medical care from UCLA. She literally uses her MBA every day to save lives.

Nasim shares lessons she learned from a 2-hour dinner with Warren Buffet back at Caltech in college, as well as productivity tips she uses every day today. Trust me: You want to learn from Nasim. Not only does her career touch over 100,000 patients, she has also balanced raising her two young daughters during her FEMBA experience.

Nasim is one of the great people in your UCLA Anderson network, and she graciously shares her success strategies with us in this Drive Time podcast.

Enjoy!

Meet one of our Global Rock Stars: Mark E. Lee 2017

We thought about titling this interview “Are you kidding me? Where did you find the time?” Mark E. Lee, FEMBA 2017, Founding Partner of Halo Media Group, FEMBA Council Executive Board Member, is a high-participation leader here at UCLA Anderson. Enjoy this interview and hear about Mark’s global, FEMBA rock star experience, including:

• Going on 5 Global Immersions:
  Greece, Vietnam, and South Africa (all three as a student);
  Thailand/Myanmar and Japan (as a teaching assistant)
• Founding and Owning Halo Media Group
• Being married with two kids; how FEMBA was/is a family choice/experience
• Going from Harvard (archeology/pre-med) to Los Angeles (Entertainment / Entrepreneurship and FEMBA Rock Star!)
• Serving on FEMBA Council Executive Board, VP of Marketing
• Being Entertainment & Media Association, VP
• Experiencing the Global Access Program with an Australian firm
• Teaching Assistant this Spring 2017 to UCLA Anderson Dean Judy Olian and Professor Peter Guber (Chairman & CEO of Mandalay Entertainment; Co-Owner of the Golden State Warriors, and more) and their leadership class
• “Mamer-isms” from first quarter statistics with Professor John Mamer
• Creating a “no one left behind” philosophy in FEMBA study groups
• Describing the unique impact of FEMBA Council here at UCLA Anderson
• Being in the Entertainment Media Association
  Inviting Joss Whedon (Director of “The Avengers” to speak at Korn Convocation Hall (along with MEMES and Professor Sanjay Sood)
• Specializing in both Global Management and also Entertainment Management
• “Paying FEMBA Forward” to my kids

Mark Lee, FEMBA 2017, Founding Partner of Halo Media Group, with his lovely family at FEMBA Appreciation Day, February 25, 2017.

First-ever UCLA Anderson Global Immersion to Thailand/Myanmar, December 2016.

Above, left to right: Mike Fetterman 2017, Larry Eng 2018, Victor Gebhardt 2018, Margaret Chang 2018, Jason Davenport 2017, Audrey Barker 2018, Chris Ferruzzi 2017, Susan Francia 2018, Yvonne Tran 2017, Ekta Talwar 2017, and Mason Wang 2017.

Mark Lee and FEMBA friends in Greece on the 2015 Global Immersion. This is my favorite foto!

Above, left to right: Victor Shyu 16, Mark Reidy 17, Ray Obico 16, Christopher Ferruzzi 17, Brittany Blackamore 16, Mark Lee 17, Caitlin Cassidy 17, and Jonathan Driscoll 17.

Enjoy the podcast with Mark!

It’s Your Life; If You Want It You Can Have It: Meet Kate Motonaga ’97

What an engaging FEMBA success story!  I hope you enjoy listening half as much as I enjoying interviewing.

Kate Motonaga, FEMBA ’97, CFE and new Senior Associate Dean and CFO of UCLA Anderson generously shares about her education and career and ends with some great advice about how to maximize your MBA at UCLA Anderson: “It’s Your Life and It’s Your Career; If You Want It, You Can Have It.”

You’ll learn about:

• Getting recruited to come back to UCLA Anderson as the Senior Associate Dean and CFO
• Founding her own company and running it for a decade.
• Becoming a CFE, a Certified Fraud Examiner
• Opening the new Anderson facility, from the prior Social Sciences location of Anderson
• Being in a two-section FEMBA program
• Experiencing the pre-GAP Field Study model
• Making FEMBA Friends-for-Life, who continue to offer professional support to each other
• Being a working parent

Hope you enjoy meeting a dynamic new leader of UCLA Anderson, who is also a FEMBA!

Download our podcasts for offline listening.

Meet John Wooden Global Leadership Award Fellowship Winner Datra Oliver ’18

This year FEMBA is honored with TWO John Wooden Global Leadership Award Fellowship winners, Datra Oliver ’18 and also Eric Potochek ’18.

This week’s FEMBA Drive Time podcast interviews Datra Oliver ’18, who works for Esri as an International Contracts Specialist. Datra’s life journey spans the Bahamas to the US to England and back. She’s met the Queen of England and Nelson Mandela. She’s the mother of a young son and supported her husband earning his PhD. She’s worked in Africa and earned her Law Degree in England, where she is called to both the Bar of England and Wales (2009), and the Bar of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas (2010). Datra is in FEMBA Flex and is about to complete her Core courses.

I love Datra’s summation advice for living a great life, “Just Apply.”

Enjoy hearing Datra’s unique journey thus far, and see where she’s heading next.

Download our podcasts for offline listening.

Podcast: Meet Amy Miller ’16 – “From Wondering to CEO”

 

“From Wondering to CEO”

Meet Amy Miller, UCLA Anderson FEMBA Class of 2016. Prior to deciding to pursue her MBA, Amy was co-running a family business, had four children and studied religion in undergrad. She was wondering if the MBA would be worth the time, the effort and how it could help her family business. She’s not wondering anymore, in this podcast Amy shares how FEMBA gave her a voice in business she didn’t have before, as well as a confidence. You’ll also hear about:

• Amy’s new role as the CEO of a Woman-Owned Business, Lester Lithograph
• Her global experiences from Barcelona, to Vienna and Prague, to Brazil
• How she ultimately earned a Certificate in Global Management
• FEMBA Flex and her FEMBesties
• Amy’s with advice for everyone embarking on their MBA journey

We hope you enjoy meeting Amy Miller, UCLA Anderson FEMBA Class of 2016.

Podcast: Carolyn Connolly 2016

Here’s an inspiring interview with Carolyn Connolly, 2016. Enjoy hearing Carolyn’s FEMBA journey, including:

• Earning THREE promotions in less than four years
• Having TWO beautiful baby daughters during FEMBA
• Having an amazing Global Access Program team and now becoming a GAP Fellow
• Following her dreams: from the east coast to California, from engineering to professional Roller Derby Skater to the City of Santa Monica, and finally to now and creating stability for raising her family

Podcast: Sai Chundi 2016

Welcome to Drive Time: The UCLA Anderson FEMBA Podcast.

Take us on your commute and learn from the success of Sai Chundi 2016, including:

• Fulfilling his lifelong goal of developing himself as a leader
• Landing his dream job with Microsoft
• Making friendships-for-life
• Traveling to Sweden for GAP, and to Argentina for a Global Immersion
• Welcoming his first baby into his family during FEMBA

Download our podcasts for offline listening.

FEMBApalooza Top Ten List

We did it!  The biggest FEMBApalooza ever!  Over 1,000 people attended from 18 different FEMBA Class Years, plus faculty, family and friends.

Mil gracias–a Thousand Thank You’s–to everyone who made FEMBApalooza 4 great!

Thanks to Christy Marquez (FEMBApalooza manager), the FEMBAassadors and FEMBA Council, Anderson Marketing, FEMBA Student Affairs, Operations, the GAP team, the Center for Global Management, Alumni, Development, Diversity, Full-Time MBA & Executive MBA staff, all our vendors, our “Teaching under the Trees” faculty (Miguel Unzueta, Ian Larkin, Corinne Bendersky, Gonzalo Freixes and also David Cooley from Alumni Career Services), all the Anderson Club representatives and Entrepreneurs, FEMBA caterers Sharon Lee ’15 (Yogurtland) and Shreena Grewal ’17 (Bites Desserts), Alumni-Success-Story Abhilash Patel ’12, Wendy Spinner and all the Anderson Alumni Association Executive Committee members, Senior Associate Dean Margaret Shih, Dean Judy Olian, our FEMBA admissions team: Christy Marquez, Raymond Morada, Maureen Riley, Cynthia Summerville, Vanessa Carlos, Matt Gorlick ’13, and all our student clerks, current and alumni, and finally, Joe and Josie Bruin!  Enjoy the top ten list below, and the whole photo album.

And now, drumroll please, the 2015 FEMBApalooza 4, Top Ten List:

# 10  NO RAIN

# 9  OVER 1,000 ATTENDING, NEW RECORD, NEW LOCATION

983 students/alumni/guests signed-in, plus we had volunteers at the Biergarden/Club/Entrepreneur Zone end who didn’t sign in.

# 8  THE GROUP PHOTO & UCLA 8-CLAP

# 7  FAMILY FUN

# 6  FEMBASSADORS & TEAM ORGANIZERS

 

# 5  DEAN JUDY OLIAN

Judy was on fire, rallying the audience with the three pillars of Think in the Next, especially “Share Success.”

 

# 4  JOE & JOSIE BRUIN

 

# 3  ALUMNI VICTORY  ABHILASH PATEL 2012

Abhilash greeted the 2018s in Korn Convocation Hall in the morning. He just sold both his companies the Friday before for $60M!  Pretty amazing result, three years post-graduation. Listen to his presentation on Mediasite (forward to 58:30)

# 2  TEACHING UNDER THE TREES

# 1  WELCOMING OUR NEW 2018 FEMBAS TO THE FAMILY

We hope you’re as keen to join FEMBA as we are to welcome you!

Top 5 FEMBA Memories, Adam Schleyhahn ’15

Hi Dylan –

FEMBA has flown by. Here are my five top memories from FEMBA.

1) I learned to drive a stick shift for the first time – in Finland. Robert Schneider, James Biskey and I were all visiting our GAP company, Primoceler, when I told them I’d never driven a stick shift. They immediately pulled over, handed me the keys and made me learn the hard way. They had a natural Good Cop/Bad Cop approach – Robert expressing his fatherly disappointment at all the gear grinding and James with his usual enthusiastic encouragement. I now know how to drive a stick – and with confidence!

2) Santiago Chile – after a long restless week of meeting with copper executives, the sharpest financiers in Latin America, Government Economic Officials, Artists, and many other friends of Professor Sebastian Edwards we took a trip to the Chilean Andes for some horseback riding. Not only was this a breath-taking once in a lifetime experience, but it was a great opportunity to relax, drink wine, and really open up and get to know both FEMBA and Full Time Classmates. It was on this trip that I met Neil Mahoney and Robert Schneider for the first time. 6 Months later when we were forming GAP teams, the initial “Dream Team” I attempted to form fell apart and I became a GAP orphan looking for a team – it was Robert and Neil that took me in.

Here we are, L-R, Neil Mahoney, Robert Schneider and me.

Robert Schneider and me.

The local scenery.

When in Chile, eat like the locals.

 3) Giving a proper Power Point Presentation – not only was McCann and Dylan’s class fun and entertaining – the content was both extremely useful and immediately applicable. I had the opportunity to give a presentation at my company’s corporate office several weeks after the course finished and went all out with relating to the audience, hooking them into my presentation and using good, convincing power point slides to make my case. I told Dylan that I felt like I was somehow cheating because this course gave such an advantage.

4) Self Validation – my undergraduate academic experience was somewhat of a rocky one. I definitely took full advantage of the “optional essay” to explain what a changed man I was and how hard I’d work if given the chance to come to Anderson. I was just as surprised as I was overjoyed when I got the phone call telling me I was accepted and have viewed the opportunity to come here as an academic re-birth. 3 years later I’m graduating top 15%  Anderson Honor Society and GAP Fellow. I can honestly say I went all out and definitely left it all on the field! The work ethic, confidence, organization and “make each day your masterpiece” mentality will definitely stay with me as I approach the next phase of my life and career.

5) Just because life gets busy does not mean that the most important things in life come to a halt. While the days of coming home from work, cracking open an ice cold beer and plopping down on the couch to watch the Padre game without a care in the world are long long long gone, my wife Rose and I have made many new friends both in and out of the FEMBA Program and reached many life milestones – most important of which was when we welcomed our daughter Clara into this world last year. Things definitely became very stressful, but the funny thing was that many of my classmates were hitting the same life milestones, and dealing with the same stress – there was always somebody else to talk to that knew exactly what it felt like to juggle parenthood, work and school. It was a tough, rigorous and exhausting experience and we are all stronger because of it!

Graduating is bittersweet! Thank you for being part of such a wonderful program and life experience.

Adam Schleyhahn

[Dylan: Thanks Adam. Sorry it took me all week to post this. We released admission decisions today. And, it was worth it to wait for the family photo. Save the best for last! Congratulations and enjoy Commencement tomorrow!]