Bobby Yan (TC ’95), an eight-time Emmy Award-winner with two new movies that recently premiered, has built a successful career as a full-time filmmaker. But if he could offer advice to his 21-year-old self on the eve of graduating from Tulane, he’d tell himself to aim high and believe in his potential.

“Think of your highest goal — think big and go from there,” Yan said. “Don’t allow anyone to create doubt in your vision of who you are. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it, because if you do the work, and you’re passionate and really believe in what you’re doing, you can achieve it.”

It’s advice he’d extend to anyone with dreams of their own. Yan’s career traces back to his time at Tulane, where he first got hands-on experience at the Tulane television channel, TSTV. He joined the production team of “Hip Hop Half Hour,” a show popular not only on campus but throughout New Orleans.

During his sophomore year, Yan founded AASU, the Asian American Student Union. As a second-generation Chinese American, he felt driven to create a community for students to share their experiences and build connections. “This became, for me, a passion to create a home base for us to really discuss our experiences on campus, and also to unify us as a whole and to have fun, ultimately,” he shared.

While Yan knew at age 21 that he was destined to be a filmmaker, he wasn’t quite certain of the steps to get there. Torn between his passion for filmmaking and a possible career as a Broadway singer, he described his early post-graduate years as “a time of discovery.”

“It took several years before I found my roots,” he said. Eventually, his path became clear through directing music videos, which allowed him to blend his love for filmmaking with his deep connection to music.

Over time, Yan’s talent earned him eight Emmy Awards, the television industry’s highest honor for artistic and technical excellence. These awards recognized his contributions as an associate producer and online editor for the MLB Network.

In 2019, Yan was honored as a Tulane Trailblazer, a recognition celebrating individuals from diverse backgrounds who have made a lasting impact on the university. Tulane also established the Bobby Yan Lecture in Media and Social Change in his name.

“I was honestly floored and humbled to be selected as a Trailblazer.”

Looking ahead, Yan hopes to leave a lasting impact through his work. “I want to create stories that resonate,” he said. “I also want to be a filmmaker who can inspire others to pursue their own dreams and goals. It’s really important for me to help support, inspire and influence future filmmakers who have unique stories to tell.”