From the Olympic stage to tracking growth metrics, Rachel Sung is making a name for herself.
Sung, a third-year cognitive science student, has been balancing competitive table tennis and schoolwork since she was six years old.
Sung said her experience at the Paris 2024 Olympics felt “unreal” and was filled with many exciting experiences. She added that she takes pride in the fact that she comes from an immigrant background and felt ecstatic that her family was able to watch.
“I think from the minute I made it through trials all the way until you actually get to Paris, it’s definitely something that feels super unreal,” Sung said. “Meeting a lot of super famous athletes and sort of just letting it sink in that you achieved your goal, and sports wise, it’s the ultimate goal you can get – besides actually placing at the Olympics.”
Growing up, Sung said she never fully understood her parents’ strict rules – which she said she now recognizes were rooted in their sacrifices as immigrants adjusting to a new culture. Over time, Sung said she came to appreciate her parents’ sacrifices for her to achieve her Olympic dream, with most of these actions being a reflection of love and a desire for her to succeed.
Sung also serves as the director of product marketing for Voodies – a location-based food discovery platform that uses short-form video content to help users explore restaurants and dishes around them, she said.
Sung said the company was founded by London Anderson, an UC San Diego alumnus, who came up with the idea from his frustrations with traditional food reviews.The app aims to capitalize on the rising popularity of short-form video content, particularly across platforms such as TikTok and Instagram reels, she added.
Anderson, the chief executive officer, said he created the food discovery platform in 2023 after realizing there was no app that let users easily preview food through location-based videos.
Anderson said he hired Sung after realizing he wanted to expand the app idea and development team last October.
“Prior to us even starting the company, we were like, first, let’s see if people even want this,” Anderson said. “We did our kind of market research, and we figured out, there’s no app like Voodies right now.”
Voodies also utilizes artificial intelligence and machine learning to personalize users’ video feeds based on their food preferences and viewing habits – such as favoring specific cuisines, Sung said. The app also integrates geolocation data to recommend trending food spots nearby the user, allowing it to act as both a smart discovery tool and a social platform simultaneously, she added.
The app has a feature called “Connect” – which allows restaurants to partner with local content creators to produce video content to help promote their business, Anderson said.
Sung also said her athletic career had a great influence on her approach to business.
“Competitive sports, I would say, it really helps you in a sense of building character – you sort of learn how to deal with losses, and you learn how to handle pressure and not let the pressure get to you,” Sung said. “So in the business world, too, I just try to be very calm and tackle each problem step by step, and I tend to ask my peers around me for opinions on different parts of a problem.”
Sung also said being an athlete increased her mental fortitude. Unexpectedly, she added that the network between the business and sports worlds overlaps significantly.
Sung said she and Anderson started a college ambassador program. Anderson added that he is really proud of Sung for her leadership of the marketing team.
“She’s always happy to help out with us passing out flyers or testing out different marketing ideas, filming TikToks,” Anderson said. “She’s very available; she’s very dedicated.”
The company also hires many interns who are students at UCLA, Anderson said.
Anderson, who was born and raised in Los Angeles, said hiring UCLA students as interns is a natural fit for the company because of its talented students, strong food culture and integration with LA’s influencer sphere.
The company seeks young and passionate people, Sung said.
One of those UCLA students is Lauren Vu. Vu, a second-year psychology student, serves as the lead ambassador for Voodies at UCLA. She was recruited after Sung noticed her TikTok dance videos, later joining as a beta tester of the app.
As a lead ambassador, Vu said she coordinates the campus ambassador team by organizing flyering shifts, managing outreach efforts and scheduling events to promote app downloads, while continuing to create food review content for the app.
Vu said Sung, as a leader, asks for her creative input on some of the marketing tools – including flyers for social media.
“I gave my suggestion on what should be on the flyer,” Vu said. “I was like, ‘No way you guys actually use my suggestion,’ the exact same thing that I told her ended up being on the flyer.”
Sung said she believes the 2028 Olympics will be special because the event is in LA. UCLA will also be the site of the Olympic Village, where thousands of athletes will reside.
She added that she is still considering participating – and will decide closer to the event – as her main priorities include graduation.
“People ask about the 2028 Olympics a lot, and that’s definitely something that I think is really special because it’s in LA, which is so close to me,” Sung said.
Sung said she would encourage young people to “go for it” when it comes to spearheading their own initiatives.
“You literally have nothing to lose – especially being a young student – you’re really at the prime time, prime stage of your life,” Sung said. “Believe you have the capability to grow into that role and always be open to learning from others.”
Comments are closed.