Profiles in Success
Haley Ali | EQUIP Alumna
Advancing Genetics Through Effective Communication
Haley Ali is a senior at UC Davis pursuing a major in genetics and a minor in technology management. Her interests include traveling, listening to history podcasts and participating in thoughtful discussion—she’s not afraid to play devil’s advocate.
Haley was an EQUIP Fellow in winter quarter 2023.
EQUIP, or Entrepreneurship Quest: Undergraduate Internship Program, provided Haley with a growth mindset that is helping her to grow inside and outside of her education and professional path. Instead of taking these steps alone, she now sees her education and career journey as a series of interconnected pathways with mentors helping along the way.
“As my friend Rayyan Islam from EQUIP says, ’Just show up, and the opportunities will follow’. This advice is not uncommon or unexpected but hearing it from a random person is different than having it said by multiple people who believe in you and put you in positions that allow you to grow.”
Haley plans to use her interest in client-facing roles to help organizations improve processes within biotech and integrate new technologies from outside of the personalized genomics field.
What’s important about your field of study—and where do you hope to take it?
We are currently in the era of personalized genomics. A lot of the techniques used to analyze genes are very recent, so there’s tremendous room for advancements in technology and our understanding of genetics. If I continue in my field of study, I hope to be in a role where I explain and properly educate clients, shareholders or other audiences how to improve processes within biotech or integrate new technologies from outside the field.
What are you most passionate about in your education?
I like that I found a balance between STEM and managerial education with my major and minor.
What is the most unexpected advice you received during the program—and why?
This is more of an open-ended question than a piece of advice. What was drilled into me by EQUIP was simple: “Why not you? Why can’t you speak to this CEO? Why can’t you offer your input just because you don’t have the same major or experience as everyone else? Why can’t you ask for a favor when no is the worst outcome?” Be open to every possibility.
What is the most valuable insight you discovered about yourself in EQUIP?
I learned that I am not as outgoing and fearless as I thought I was. After scoring high in strategy in the Clifton Strengths Assessment, I discovered that I tend to overthink, which can cripple me during social interactions—especially while networking. It is better to know “now” rather than “later,” so thank you, EQUIP. I promise that I’m working on it!
Tell us about your internship.
Through EQUIP, I met many people who helped me gain valuable insights into how to achieve in my career and accomplish my entrepreneurial goals. One day, I attended an event hosted by the EQUIP program and met a group of young professionals who were largely involved in the broader Sacramento networking arena. One person, UC Davis alumnus Cameron Gallad, was extremely helpful and I knew I had to reach out to him at a later date.
After a zoom call and some emails, he invited me to be a student committee member on the EMERGE Summit Committee, as a part of Metro Edge. Now I am on a team that will be hosting one of the biggest networking events of the year, and I have the chance to meet dozens of leaders, CEOs, professionals and overall success stories from the area!
I am happy to have Cameron as a mentor and hope that one day I'll give back to the UC Davis community as much as he does.
Where do you hope to be, professionally, in five years?
I see myself as a consultant in a new technological field because I love doing research and finding ways to affectively explain concepts and systems to clients.
I’m challenged to be more efficient in how I analyze data and communicate my findings while perfecting my interpersonal skills. I also hope to give back to the Davis community as an alumna.
How will these experiences help you to change the world?
If I have learned anything in college, it’s that systems rather than individual people have a greater impact in how the world is run. If I can find a network of people who are willing to help me understand, tackle and change the status quo of a problem, I can be successful in solving it.