Christopher Pan, social entrepreneur, musician and inspirational speaker, will be the commencement speaker at The Ohio State University’s spring commencement. Credit: Courtesy of The Ohio State University
This spring’s commencement speaker, Christopher Pan, will have to fit his life story as a social entrepreneur, inspirational speaker and Ohio State student into a 10-minute address to an audience of 12,000 graduating students.
Pan, who was born in Taiwan and immigrated to the U.S. at 7 years old, came with “$2,000 and a dream.” This led to a variety of challenges that he would overcome prior to a career that now leads him back to his alma mater.
“I was thrown into elementary school with a lot of kids that didn’t look like me,” Pan said. “I couldn’t speak their language and it was really hard. I was bullied a lot, and it was hard because I was like the odd kid out.”
Years later, Pan’s family moved to Beijing, attending eighth grade at an international school and furthering his exposure to diverse cultures. He came back to the U.S. two years later and became more involved with his church community.
During his time at Ohio State, Pan’s involvement and different organizations became leadership and eventually a dream to go to medical school. He was heavily involved in the Ohio State community, becoming a resident adviser and a teaching assistant to emphasize his commitment to aiding others.
Mark Wilson, senior director of recruiter relations and technology at the Fisher College of Business, met Pan in Wilson’s first job at Ohio State as a career counselor.
“I remember Chris telling me his real passion was to become a motivational speaker, and I remember thinking, ‘This kid is only 19; he will need to have a few experiences before he goes on to inspire others,’ Wilson said. “Chris has achieved his goal — what an amazing journey.”
After graduating in 1999 with a degree in biopsychology, Pan altered his path, dropping out of medical school three weeks in. He decided to instead focus on business, moving to McKinsey & Company. He later earned an MBA at Harvard Business School before moving to China to take on a digital marketing position at PepsiCo.
“I learned so much from those guys at PepsiCo,” Pan said. “I figured if I could learn how to make dark sugar water cool, I could take the same skills and make other things cool.”
While he enjoyed his position at PepsiCo, he felt that he hadn’t reached his goal of being financially free. He resigned and said he saw only two paths to get him the financial stability he wanted: a tech startup or a financial hedge fund.
This led Pan to connect with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2007, joining the team when the platform had just 50 million users.
Pan identified a growth plateau in the company, which he attributed to a lack of social interaction among users. In an attempt to better this, Pan taught himself new skills, leading to a company reorganization to foster more social connections.
“So after four years at Facebook, I just felt like it was time to have another venture, as I had hit my financial goals,” Pan said.
Even with this success, a breakup led Pan to a weeklong therapy retreat where he learned to focus on emotional and spiritual wellness in addition to physical and intellectual health. This new mindset inspired him to create Spirit Lab, a company focused on hosting uplifting activities from afternoon painting sessions and making bracelets to bringing together grieving communities such as Israeli and Palestinian communities.
“I’m a big believer that just because you know something, if you don’t put it into practice, you don’t get any of the benefits,” Pan said.
Pan said Spirit Lab attracted a significant following through the creation of MyIntent Project’s bracelets, which allow users to create custom bracelets that remind the wearer to live intentionally. Pan was proud of the product’s publicity, with well-known artists such as rapper Jay-Z even having one of his own.
Now, as he returns to Ohio State to deliver the spring commencement address, Pan said he hopes to share his story on a wider platform and to help inspire emotional, spiritual and financial freedom for billions of people over the next decade.
“My message to all the graduates and every student, faculty, staff is to take a half hour every week and learn about investing,” Pan said. “It doesn’t have to be something such as Bitcoin, it can be other things, right? There are plenty of things to invest in, like brushing your teeth in the morning or taking a shower, for your physical health. So for your financial health, for your financial well-being, take a half hour and learn something.”
