History and Purpose
The Asian Business Association (ABA) was founded in 1975 by a group of students who set out to provide a bridge between the professional world and the students of the UC Berkeley campus. Over the course of its 30 years of history, ABA has expanded its mission and now represents many diverse majors and cultures:

The mission of the Asian Business Association is to advance the study of business and to develop well-rounded leaders at the University of California, Berkeley. ABA promotes scholarship and leadership at the Walter A. Haas School of Business; encourages career exploration; and cultivates community-building and networking within and beyond the University. ABA emphasizes social responsibility in contemporary business practices and encourages its members to serve the local community.

In addition, ABA has become a well-respected organization among the campus, the Haas community, and the business world. With over 500 members, it is the largest undergraduate organization sponsored by the Walter A. Haas School of Business. As a result of its leadership and services to its members, ABA won Excellence in Professionalism Awards in 2006 and 2008 from the Haas Business School Association.

What ABA Offers
ABA offers its members experiences, skills, and memories to last a lifetime. ABA’s main focus lies in its three core values: professionalism, community, and service. Additionally, members who want to become more involved in our organization can interview to join one of our committees (Community Service, Marketing, Media Technology, Professional, Publications, Social).

To learn more about our organization, please feel free to visit the ABA table on Sproul Plaza, Monday through Friday from 11AM to 2PM. For more information on our membership benefits, please visit our Membership page. You may also contact our External Vice President, Laura Wang, at laurawang@berkeley.edu if there are any further questions. ABA has devoted over 30 years of excellence to our members, making it the premier professional organization on the UC Berkeley campus. We hope that you’ll find what you’re looking for in ABA.

Professionalism
ABA works with a vast array of companies to host workshops that will help its members develop the necessary skills to excel in today’s professional world. Career fairs, resume and interview workshops, and networking mixers are just some of the professional events that we offer. ABA has partnered with top companies such as McKinsey & Company, Deloitte, JPMorgan and Google, and many others to put on high quality events for our members.

For members interested in the business school, ABA assists them to learn what the Haas School of Business is all about. ABA provides its members with a variety of resources, such as past exams to use as study guides. Members that are interested in these resources and more should visit the ABA table on Sproul Plaza for more information.

In addition to its professional events, ABA also offers an extensive alumni network. ABA alumni have excelled both academically and professionally, working for companies such as Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, KPMG, Deloitte Consulting, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and JPMorgan. Alumni share their experiences and insights with members and provide their expertise of the professional world. ABA's diverse alumni network is a great resource for members aspiring for a successful future in business. To see a list of our alumni and their careers, please visit the Alumni page.

Community
ABA truly values the concept of community and many have found one within ABA. Every semester, ABA hosts several events such as pizza nights, retreats, and banquets to allow members to build on its community and strengthen existing relationships. Because ABA is such a large organization, we have set up a buddy system to help each member feel right at home. Members are placed into buddy groups where they have the opportunity to meet more people and get to know one another better. As a result, many members have discovered lifelong friendships within ABA.

Service
ABA realizes the importance of contributing to our communities. In this effort, the community service chairs host two large-scale service projects annually. In the fall, over 100 members participate in the annual charity fashion show, now in its twelfth year. In the spring, ABA works with the Internal Revenue Service to put on the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Our events raise thousands of dollars for charity and help hundreds of families. To learn more about the community service events that ABA offers, please visit our Philanthropy page.