SANCHIR Boldoo - How He Got Into Harvard and Why He Chose to Work At Change.org
Interview by Nomunsor Soronzonbold
Get to know Sanchir Boldoo (Class of 2015), a Data Analyst at Change.org in New York, USA. Bilingual in Mongolian and English, Sanchir has a B.A. in Applied Mathematics and Economics from Harvard. Previously he interned and worked at Wayfair, Hogan Lovells and NewCom Group. Read about his experience at Harvard and why he chose to work at Change.org after Wayfair.
Full name: Sanchir Boldoo
Hobby Alumni: Class of 2015 (Years attended 2006-2015)
Higher Education: Harvard University
Languages: Mongolian, English
Sector(s): Social impact, Technology, E-commerce
Current Workplace: Change.org
Past Workplaces: Wayfair, Hogan Lovells LLP (Internship), Newcom Group (Internship)
Frequented Website: NYT, FiveThirtyEight, Wikipedia, Bleacher Report
Current phone: iPhone 12
3 Favorite Restaurants or Coffee shops in UB: Coffee Hut (behind old Hobby), Sakura in Kempinski Hotel, Millie’s Cafe
3 Books To Recommend: A Promised Land by Barack Obama, Freakonomics, The Power of Habit
3 Movies or TV-Shows To Recommend: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Good Place, Modern Family
3 Songs You Are Listening To Most Right Now: Forever by Snakehips, Heatwaves by Glass Animals, Signed, Sealed, Delivered by Stevie Wonder
3 Apps To Recommend: Reddit, Chess, UBinfo
3 Podcasts or YouTube Channels To Recommend: N/A
EDUCATION
How many years have you studied at Hobby School, and where have you studied before and/or after Hobby?
I studied at Hobby for 9 years. Before that, I studied in Arlington, Virginia from Kindergarten to 2nd grade.
What kind of a student were you? What was your favorite class/subject and who was your favorite teacher?
I was a very ‘by the book’ student, and wasn’t the type to “uimuuleh”. Looking back, I was a pretty serious kid (especially before high-school), and I definitely could and should have misbehaved more (laughs). As our principal, Oyuntsetseg Durvuljin bagsh, says, sometimes kids just need to be kids. My favorite classes were world history and math, and I have quite a few favorite teachers. Our homeroom teacher, Ijilmurun bagsh, cared about us a lot and always took us on class bonding trips twice a year. Gunsen bagsh was my high-school math teacher. She was strict, but she was also very sweet and truly genuine about wanting each student to learn. Mendsaikhan bagsh was my Russian teacher, and she was so patient and kind with me when I was already struggling with fully learning Mongolian. Maitsetseg bagsh is an amazing person as well. The way she truly, truly cared about each student as if they were her own was really heartwarming.
In addition, I really appreciate everything Ms. Alicia, Ms. Dulmaa, and Mr. Travis did for me. They taught us AP, prepared us for the SAT, revised essays, coached debate, and were just really fun and kind people.
“They wrote my recommendation letters for college, and I know for a fact that their recommendations had a huge impact on my chances for getting admitted to Harvard.”
Going to tournaments with them and the rest of our debate club are some of my fondest memories from Hobby. Honestly, there are even more amazing teachers from Hobby who I haven’t been able to mention, but I’m grateful for all of them.
You started school in Arlington, Virginia then came to Mongolia. Did you notice any difference?
It’s hard to remember as I was quite young when my family moved back to Mongolia, but the emphasis on memorization was probably the main difference. Besides that, I remember that math classes at Hobby were very hard at first. Right after I had come from the U.S. at age 8, I gave the math portion of the Hobby entrance exam and actually cried because of how difficult it was (laughs). It may be different now, but I think all classes are taught at a relatively accelerated pace in Mongolia. In America, you take fewer classes, obtain a general level of understanding, and then begin to specialize as you progress through the grades.
What’s your fondest memory at Hobby?
Probably anytime in general where we, as in my friends or classmates, were just together: going on class trips that Ijilmurun bagsh organized, preparing for the drama competition, going to basketball or debate tournaments, etc. These moments and memories let me meet a lot of the friends that I’m still friends with to this day.
After graduating, why did you pick Applied Mathematics & Economics for your bachelor’s degree?
I initially picked economics because I had aspirations of perhaps doing economic policy work one day.
“In college, I realized that pursuing academia or policy wasn’t really for me, so I switched my major to applied mathematics to maintain the flexibility of entering different industries while also increasing the number of years I could work on a student visa in the U.S. since it was a more technical degree.”
My program was interdisciplinary with coursework in economics, statistics, math, and computer science, so I’m glad that I made the switch and got a taste of different fields. I would highly recommend applied math to people who are interested in several fields and don’t have an exact idea for what they want to do yet.
You are our second Harvard alumnus interview after Zorigoo Tugsbayar. Hence many would be interested to know your story. How was the Harvard experience for you? Can you share as much as possible?
Yes, I’m happy to share. On one hand, …
“...I was simply in awe as I had the opportunity to take courses from best-selling authors, former cabinet members, and leading researchers. I believe that by my senior year, I had taken a course from each of Presidents Reagan, Clinton, Bush, and Obama’s respective economic advisers.”
Even outside of courses, students could attend talks or panel discussions involving people from NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabar to economists involved in Russia’s 1990s privatization efforts. From that sense, it was inspiring to learn from a lot of distinguished people from a variety of fields. That’s something I’ll always remember and be grateful for.
“On the other hand, I would say that studying at Harvard wasn’t always very simple from a mental standpoint. It was very easy to get caught up in the school’s prestige and begin placing unreasonable expectations on myself.”
A lot of the time, I would see or hear the many amazing things that some of my classmates were up to and feel inadequate with my own work or progress. It could be mentally exhausting at times. During my time there, I think I realized that my old habits of constantly rating my worth via grades, achievements, and ranking relative to others wasn’t sustainable. At some point, I realized that you had to be happy with yourself and your effort. I think these days the ‘grind’ culture of sleeping 4 hours and constantly working has been romanticized. There are times where that may be beneficial, but to me, it’s really important to prioritize work-life balance and look after yourself.
To end on a very positive note though, I also made a number of my best friends during my time at Harvard, some of whom actually visited Mongolia. The school isn’t the largest population-wise, but it is diverse enough to the point where each person can find their group or community. We even had a small Mongolian group in my first couple of years and mostly before I enrolled. Hopefully that community can grow even more in the future and with some help from Hobby.
Although we are a high school alumni organization, what can Hobby Alumni learn from Harvard Alumni?
I think the Hobby Alumni group already does a great job in terms of organizing events and maintaining an active social media presence. The only thought I have right now would be perhaps an internal alumni networking portal, which alumni can opt-into.
Can you tell us personal tips on how to get into an Ivy League school? How can we prepare better?
I personally think there is a lot of luck or chance involved in the process overall, but that you need to place yourself in a position to be lucky, if that makes sense. Sometimes, it seems like everything may boil down to how a certain admissions officer or interviewer perceives you and your application a given day. You need to at least have them think about your application and picture what it would be like with you at their school.
Before I try to articulate what I think works, I’d also add that students should evaluate why they want to study at a particular school. The Ivy League schools have great professors and resources, but plenty of other schools do as well. Some schools specialize in certain areas or run programs unique to them. In my opinion, finding a school that fits your area of interest could be as important as the actual application itself. In terms of what’s within your control, I think maintaining strong grades, scoring well on the SAT, and having a few notable extracurriculars are boxes that generally need to be ticked. It also helps if your recommendation letters are from teachers or employers who can earnestly speak to your unique qualities. I may be missing a few things as it’s been a few years, but the final and most important piece is the personal essay in my opinion. Of course this may not apply in every case, but…
“I believe that an honest, well-written, and memorable personal essay is the best way for an applicant to stand out. It’s the only step in the process where you can portray yourself without numbers and digits. ”
In terms of tips for this, I would say to keep it focused and try to establish your identity/story. Don’t dive into too many themes, topics, and life events. Write about something that both matters to you and enables you to show your characteristics, qualities, and thought-process. Don’t worry about finding some grand or epic story. In fact, I would argue that the best essays are relatable, self-contained, and about something you’re emotionally invested in. All in all, these are just my thoughts. I think there are plenty of paths or approaches that someone can take.
How did you prepare for the SATs and TOEFL? Any tips?
“In terms of the SAT, I was lucky because Hobby already had a couple of classes on the critical reading and writing sections.”
I naturally got to practice through those, but I also completed quite a number of practice tests starting from 11th grade. I think the best way to study is to do an initial practice test, diagnose where you’re at and what to practice, and then just do a lot more practice tests.
For the TOEFL, I didn’t really prepare since Hobby already had solid SAT classes. I think that if you’re well-versed on the SAT, you’ll be fine with the TOEFL. You just need to become familiar with the format and structure.
Did you get scholarships? How many Mongolian students studied at Harvard before you?
I fortunately got a scholarship for my tuition. I believe I was the 6th or 7th undergraduate student at Harvard from Mongolia and the 5th from Hobby itself. I was very lucky to have many people to look up to and to learn from!
What did you do after your bachelor’s degree?
“After graduation, I went to work as a business analyst for a Fortune 500 ecommerce company called Wayfair. It was a really nice opportunity for me to familiarize myself with the booming industry that is ecommerce.”
I got to develop some of my technical skills (SQL, Python) when working with large datasets, learn how to independently execute projects, and get experience managing someone else on the team. I know there’s a career section after this, but I’ve since begun to work in data analytics for a social impact company called Change.org, which I’ll be happy to talk about later.
Do you have any plans for your master’s degree?
I don’t have any specific plans, but I would almost certainly want to do one in the next 3-6 years. Whether it’s in data science or something else, I definitely do want to go back to school eventually for an area that I’m passionate about.
Did you go on an exchange program?
I didn’t, but I wish I had for just a semester or a summer. The closest thing I did was a week-long trip to the University of Hong Kong. I made some close friends there, and they actually ended up visiting me in Mongolia!
CAREER
What was your first paying job?
My first paying job was as a sales associate at the dry cleaners on campus. My job was to sit at the cash register, take people’s laundry, and register transactions. I’m happy I did it because it provided me with both my own pocket money and experience in interacting with all kinds of customers. It definitely helped with other jobs I had later on.
How was the job search market for you after graduation?
On a micro-level, studying applied math definitely helped open up doors for me. Since my program involved several technical areas, it was versatile in the sense that it allowed me to apply for jobs ranging from data scientist to software engineer to business analyst. At the macro-level, starting from my sophomore year, …
“...a lot of companies in the U.S. virtually stopped hiring foreign students due to the visa policies of the administration at the time.
It was honestly a very sad period just because the window of opportunities for a lot of my friends and me so drastically narrowed.”
Around that time, I learned that I needed to try to worry less about the things that were outside of my own control. However, for the things that were within my control, such as applying to the jobs/industries that were available, I just tried to do my best.
What was it like to intern at Hogan Lovells LLP and Newcom Group in Mongolia?
It was great to have this experience early on in my career because I got to observe professionals who are true experts in their respective fields, whether it was corporate law or environmental science. It gave me a sense of excitement, as well as a bit of pride I suppose, to see that the people at those two companies were working on a multi-national level and trying to move important projects in Mongolia forward.
You worked at Wayfair for almost 2 years, but changed your job to Change.org recently. What made you choose change.org?
“I made the shift because I wanted a more analytics-heavy role and because I wanted to move into a more social-impact, activism-focused sector that was made possible via technology.”
I’m grateful for my time and everything that I learned at Wayfair, but I had always been interested in activism and the general idea that large groups of people could create change for their communities by coming together and voicing their beliefs. When the data analytics opportunity at Change.org became available, I felt that it was the right time to transition.
What’s your role at change.org?
Before I talk about my role, it makes sense to explain what the company does first. Generally, the company is an open platform that allows anybody to create a petition about an issue they’re passionate about as long as they stray away from violent or inappropriate content. The goal of this is to empower activists, provide them with the tools and support to generate support around a cause, and use the support to convince decision-makers like governments or businesses to make or change certain decisions. From forcing local governments to enacting police reform to helping marginalized communities receive access to life-saving medications, the platform has helped a lot of good causes, and that’s why I applied and joined.
In terms of the role, I’m a data analyst on the analytics team. This broadly means that I analyze data through statistical methods to provide all kinds of recommendations as to how we can improve our platform and help activists succeed. The role encompasses using a lot of tools like SQL and Python to identify trends in data and then determining what actions need to be taken.
“Companies are extremely data-driven when it comes to making decisions nowadays. Therefore, if one has even the slightest interest in data, I would encourage them to look at an intro statistics course and see if they can learn SQL, Python, R, and data visualization tools like Tableau. These skills can be applied to almost everything: retail, banking, consulting, sports, technology, etc.”
Mongolians use change.org a lot for petitions. Does it really work in Mongolia though? Can you share some of the success stories in Mongolia?
I can only speak from my experience, but…
“I’m actually very excited about the fact that Mongolians from all kinds of backgrounds or political views have been using the platform very actively to voice their respective opinions and beliefs.
In my opinion, public opinion has a lot of potential to influence policy in our democratic country.”
I think we have an ever-growing culture of activism and that our citizens are really engaged about issues they’re passionate about. I hope change.org can help support that.
To give an example, about 3 years ago, someone started a petition, which was directed at the United Nations, about the smog in Ulaanbaatar. It gained over 60K signatures, helped drive more international awareness, applied pressure to decision-makers, and caused the U.N. office in Ulaanbaatar to issue a statement reaffirming their commitment to help fight the pollution crisis. For large issues like this, I think it all starts with people organizing, coming together, and then asking for tangible change.
How many employees does Change.org have as of date? Are you the first Mongolian staff? Also, how is the Covid-19 impacting the business?
We have a few hundred employees and a solid presence in over 20 countries. I’m the only current Mongolian employee that I’m aware of for now, but someone actually messaged me in Mongolian on my first day! He had taken an Altaic languages course during college and still remembered plenty to kindly greet me. It was definitely a heartfelt surprise and a nice experience on my first day. In terms of Covid-19’s impact on the business, I don’t have too much insight to offer since I started working here recently.
If you decide to come back to Mongolia where would you like to work? Or would you start your own company from scratch? Do you plan to come back in the near future?
For whenever I come back, I am very industry-agnostic and open-minded about it to be honest. I think I would be more attracted to opportunities that solve an important problem or have mentors I can learn from. I haven’t seriously thought about starting my own company from scratch, but you never know. In terms of coming back in the near future, I don’t have specific plans just yet as I’m really looking forward to learning as much as I can in my current role.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I'm really excited about my new job at Change.org and where it takes me. In much more general terms, I would really like to be doing work that I find fulfilling, such as my current one. What that means to me is doing work that tangibly benefits other people, especially those who have disproportionately faced hardship. That’s the ideal state, and I hope I can reach it. I do also hope that I’m in a position where I’ve learned enough to be a mentor to others and share my experiences as long as it’s helpful for them.
Where do you see the Mongolian economy in 5 years?
I don’t think I’m qualified to give a super substantive answer to that, but my idealistic answer is that I hope to see a more diversified economy. My wish is that we can appropriately tap into our copper deposits considering the global push towards renewable energy, but we need to think more critically about our dependence on raw minerals. At the very least, we should consider how we primarily export iron ore rather than steel itself. At the end of the day, my answer is just a general one that we as a society have been talking about for at least the last decade. Hopefully, we can provide the true experts with the opportunity to determine and implement the solutions to all of this.
Is there anything you are afraid of regarding the future?
The first thing that comes to my mind is climate change. We humans seem naturally inclined to think about the short-term. As a result, I think some of us, especially decision-makers across the world who have electorates to please in the short-run, have difficulty imagining how everyday life will be affected by the crisis and thus are less willing to take the boldest actions. Whether it’s due to sinking islands in the Pacific or arid pastures in our own homeland, many people could have their lives and livelihoods fundamentally changed and upended.
“Our generation has already started to feel the effects (of climate change), and following generations will have to face a further accelerating situation, so I hope that even more investments can be made into clean energy and other initiatives that may alleviate the crisis.”
FUN QUESTIONS
How do you relax? What’s your hobby or where can we find you when you are not working?
I don’t really have any fancy relaxation methods, so I mainly just watch football/soccer or play basketball. In terms of hobbies, I’m pretty competitive and just like playing games in general, whether it’s basketball, chess, video games, whatever. If I were back home, you could probably find me playing basketball with my friends from Hobby! They’re the type of people to call me early in the morning, tell me they’ve arrived downstairs when they actually haven’t arrived, and then drag me out of bed to play. I do miss them a lot. In America, I really enjoy just exploring Google Maps and trying out new restaurants, cafes, and places with my girlfriend and friends.
When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was super young, an NBA player. When I was 12, a lawyer. Back then I had an overly simplistic view that I would be all savvy in the courtroom, making arguments and what not. Obviously, I didn’t end up pursuing either path.
Who is your role model in Mongolia? A living person and why?
From my family, my mom, dad, and grandfather. My mom for her huge compassion and kindness to other people. My dad for his really strong principles of doing what's right and what's fair. My grandpa for his inspiring level of optimism. He really has just this positivity and energy that exceed mine and those of his other grandchildren.
Outside of my family, I might say it’s Mr. Orchlon Enkhtsetseg of Clean Energy Asia. He and his team have done some amazing and mostly unprecedented projects, such as a 50MW wind farm in the Gobi Desert. I was fortunate to have interned for him one summer. He’s a very intelligent and hardworking professional whom I see as a role model.
Do you have any mentors? How did you pick them as mentors?
I don’t have one that I talk to regularly, but so many people have mentored me at different points in my life. Miga, Hobby Class of 2012, advised me a lot on the college admissions process and reviewed my essays. Zorigoo Tugsbayar, Hobby Class of 2011, assisted me a ton with professional matters, such as refining my resume and teaching me about applying to companies in the U.S, so he’s a great mentor figure as well. Another person is Badruun Garid of GerHub (also Hobby alumni). He’s been involved in a lot of different experiences and interesting projects. He really stressed to me the importance of having an open-mind, pursuing my interests, and figuring out logistics later. In general, people already have so much going on in their own lives, so I always appreciate it when they take the time and effort to guide others.
If you could compare yourself to another animal, what animal would you be?
Probably a Shiba Inu, but hopefully not as fiery as one haha.
What’s the best life advice that you’ve received? Who gave this advice?
The best advice I ever received was to always try to find the positives in any situation, even if the positives are tiny. My mom gave me this advice a lot during my college years. Some of the experiences I had during those years humbled me, provided me with a lot of challenges, and taught me that things have a tendency to not always go in the way I want. I’m sure I’ll also face many more challenges in my life that make the old ones look small in comparison. But regardless of the situation, the advice showed me that
“when you’re outside of your comfort zone, you need to find at least the smallest positive to help keep you going and overcome a tough situation. I think it’s a very simple but useful mentality to have.”
A personal advice you would like to extend to fellow Hobby Alumni?
Honestly I don't know if I'm super qualified to be giving advice to them, but what I would say is try to involve the younger generation in things you’re passionate about. People are always looking for someone to look up to or learn from, so try to provide them with even more opportunities to get involved in whatever work you’re doing, whether that’s in the arts or activism.
“I think passion is contagious, and people get fired up when they see that others are excited as well. ”
A personal advice you would like to extend to fellow Hobby students?
Current students should really make use of the cultural parts of our school’s curriculum and program. Try to take part in all of the history, drama, dance, and music events if you can. Oyuntsetseg bagsh truly cares about education, the arts, and her students. She always wanted us to become well-rounded individuals, and now I can see that.
When I first came to Hobby, I was a pretty arrogant 3rd grader haha. I didn’t want to dance because I thought I was too cool for it. A lot of the time, I would try to dodge all the competitions because I thought it was too embarrassing. Looking back now, the cultural programs at Hobby made me appreciate different cultures as well as our own. I’m glad that I was able to learn this from her and the school, so I would just encourage the students to be open-minded and try to participate in all of the arts events. Once you’re in college or an adult, you may have to go out of your way to participate in these kinds of things.
Cultural things.
What are your good and bad habits?
I think a good habit of mine is that I try to stay pretty organized. On the flip side, sometimes I enjoy making the to-do list more than doing the actual task on the list.
Funniest story at work you can share with us?
After the pandemic started, everything was moved to Zoom. One day I was speaking up in a meeting and I gave a very sharp, swaggering, and confident answer and talked for a good minute or so. After that, I was trying to mute my microphone but actually ended up leaving the meeting. After my ‘mic drop’ incident, coworkers would tease me every now and then.
If you could pass 1 law globally, what would it be?
I'd probably say universal healthcare. I always thought this should be the case, but my opinion strengthened after a personal experience. In 2020, I ended up going to the ER and staying in the hospital for 10 days. At the moment, it was a very scary experience for me in the middle of the pandemic with my family on the other side of the world. I received my medical bills, and I was so fortunate to have my insurance cover the vast majority of the costs. If I were from a less privileged situation and didn’t have insurance through my job, all of my savings would have been wiped out tenfold. Obviously, healthcare is a complex topic and a lot of smart people out there are thinking about policy solutions. However, from a personal standpoint, it would be amazing to ensure that each person has access to healthcare.
Now if you can fix 1 problem in Mongolia, what would it be?
“If I could fix something in Mongolia just like that, it would be the excruciatingly tough conditions that people in the ger district face on a daily basis. It’s tragic that so many of our people don’t have the most basic of necessities like water, sewage, electricity, etc. ”
A lot of the people who read our Hobby Alumni articles, myself included, have the ability to sometimes escape the smog, whether that’s by going abroad for school or whatever it may be. The residents of the ger district are obviously living right beneath the smog almost all of the time. I don’t think it would be an overstatement to call it a humanitarian crisis.
If you could have dinner with anyone dead or alive who would it be, and why? Also, what would be your first question?
I think it would be former U.S. president Barack Obama because of how much he had to overcome and how much hope he gave to other people. He’s one of my heroes and an inspiration. I would probably ask him if he or his administration ever even briefly thought about improving diplomatic relations with Mongolia. Obviously he had many other concerns during his presidency, but I think it’s just something I would be curious about.
Name 3 conspiracy theories you believe in.
I can’t think of any off the top of my head.
Who would you recommend to interview next from Hobby Alumni? And Why?
2 people come to mind. Nomundari Baatar, class of 2013, would be a great candidate based on all of her professional experience as well as extracurricular activities like being involved with the Mongolian student community in America. Badruun Garid, not sure which year, would also be a great person to interview. As I mentioned before, he’s been involved in so many different sectors and inspired/mentored a lot of people. I think he would provide a unique perspective.
“I believe I was the 6th or 7th undergraduate student at Harvard University from Mongolia and the 5th from Hobby itself. I was very lucky to have many people to look up to and to learn from!”