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news
T HE WEBB SCHOOL S webb.org
SPRING/SUMMER 2018 WEBB M AGA ZINE
notes
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Sarah Sun ’10
Senior Financial Analyst in Corporate Real Estate at the Walt Disney Company
“At Disney, we’re storytellers. Every building, space and facility has its own beautiful story and I get to be part of that remarkable journey from start to finish.” B Y J E S S I C A R I C E ’12
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or Sarah Sun , the power of real estate extends far past selling someone a home. “ t s such a phenomenon, that one building can not only change an individual but change a community,” she says. “ don t now anything else that can have that ind of impact on a person.” Sun is a senior financial analyst in corporate real estate at the Walt isney ompany. She handles the financial side of multi million dollar real estate projects when isney wants to improve or create spaces including o ces, screening rooms, animation studios, on site theaters and soundstages on the west coast or internationally. What she loves most about her job is the impact these projects have. “ am a part of something that s bigger than me,” she says. “ am helping create a space for people that they will spend eight to hours in, five days a wee . t better be incredible, because this is going to be li e their second home.” When Sun and her team create a space, each element from chairs to lighting is considered with great detail. Especially after the onset of
tech companies creating campuses and o ces filled with collaborative spaces and ping pong tables, Sun believes the value of one s wor place is becoming increasingly important. “We need to dream, design and build to uphold those high standards to attract millennials,” who are more and more focused on having the best wor experience possible, she said. rom her time at isney, Sun thin s the design of o ce spaces in urban areas such as os Angeles and San rancisco will continue to become more collaborative in nature. nstead of maintaining an image of grayscale o ces with outdated cubicle design, companies today “see to enhance experience and e ciency by creating flexible wor spaces for their employees,” she says. “ t allows a wor force to wor how they want on their own means.” Although Sun s passion for real estate and its capabilities is clear, she never thought she would work in the industry until she too a class focused on real estate planning and development at the niversity of Southern California. “That really opened my mind,” she reveals.
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It was at Webb where Sun believes she became more aware of how her brain works. She had always thought with logic, reason and numbers, but realized she was attracted to color, beauty and things that were aesthetically pleasing.
Sun went on to receive an Award of Excellence in eal Estate inance and graduated from USC with a BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in real estate finance and a minor in real estate development after graduating from ivian Webb School in . t was at Webb where Sun believes she became more aware of how her brain wor s. She had always thought with logic, reason and numbers, but reali ed she was attracted to color, beauty and things that were aesthetically pleasing. “ thin what do at isney is a beautiful combination of both,” she says. “We have to believe in the vision and the place where people are going to spend time every day, but also have to thin logically with numbers and things that ma e financial sense.” Aside from her time as a student at Webb, Sun s family has been a part of the Webb community for decades. er father, eorge and brother ordon attended Webb. er younger sister ara is a sophomore and half a dozen of her cousins went to Webb as well. “ thin
ara is number
,” she says.
As a result, the onor ode has become one of Sun s biggest ta eaways from Webb, a ecting both her personal values and career. “ t s so integrated into my family and has been for generations,” she says. “ ut even in business, the onor ode comes into play every day. ou don t want to deal with people who seem unethical or don t seem to have the same values as you do.” She ac nowledges the onor ode did not seem cool when she was a student, but now loo s at it with a di erent perspective. “ never thought would say this,” she admits, “but it is such an integral part of my life.”