From the Tepper School to TikTok

Lela Yuan (MSM ’25) has carved out a career rooted in trend-setting, adaptability, and community engagement. Now a category manager at TikTok, Yuan works at the intersection of public and personal relationship building. Her hybrid role within category and account management allows her to support sellers in the collectibles space including collaborations with athletes and celebrities. 

In her role, Yuan manages sellers across sports cards, jerseys, trading card games and Pop Mart collectibles. Additionally, she collaborates with celebrities and athletes to organize live signings and promotions. The work is fast-paced and constantly evolving, requiring her to balance product strategy with high-level relationship management.

“It’s a fun job and has been a really unique experience,” Yuan said. “It’s very dynamic, and you’re managing people and relationships at a high level.”

Yuan credits the Tepper School of Business, particularly the Master’s Career Center (MCC), with helping to prepare her to succeed in such a demanding role. Throughout her time in the Masters of Management program, she worked closely with her MCC career coach Zeynep Tolon, participating in multiple rounds of mock interviews and tailored interview preparation.

“I honestly don’t think I would have landed this role without her expertise and encouragement,” Yuan said. “She reminded me that most of the time you’re not going to instantly get to the point that you want to get to in your career. It is more about the journey that you travel.”

The MCC’s supportive approach helped Yuan understand what recruiters at large technology companies look for and gave her the confidence to perform in high-stakes interviews. She also highlighted how Carnegie Mellon’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and her Hackathon experience at the Tepper School made her stand out to recruiters. 

Before pursuing her master’s degree at the Tepper School, Yuan earned her undergraduate degree at Carnegie Mellon University where she majored in Decision Science and Human-Computer Interaction with a minor in Game Design. As an international student, she found that her undergraduate involvement in various extracurriculars played a key role in developing the interpersonal skills central to her current work.

“Coming from China, I never had the environment to speak English casually,” she reflected. “Being in various interest-based clubs and my sorority really helped me understand American culture and how to be approachable, for example the art of small talk.”

Reflecting on her experiences, Yuan encourages current students to fully utilize their MCC coach, take initiative early, and avoid comparing their journey to others.
“Everyone has their own unique journey, and seeing what your peers are doing doesn’t mean you are failing,” she said. “You have to understand that it’s your own path.”

Yuan’s journey underscores how the Tepper School’s career support resources, combined with technical rigor, interpersonal skill development and experiential learning, equips students to pursue distinctive and evolving career paths with confidence.

“The Tepper School gave me the confidence and skills to take on a role that’s really unlike anything else,” she shared. “I am excited to see where this journey goes next.”

Inspired by Lela’s story? See how our Masters of Science in Management program can help you write your own.

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