A Conversation with Incoming Minerva Graduate Student Zoe Chen

This is part of a series of profiles introducing students from Minerva’s incoming Fall 2025 graduate class. If you would like to learn more about our programs, please visit our website.

Zoe Chen, originally from Taiwan, studied psychology at the University of Washington. Currently, Zoe works at the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan, an NGO that facilitates collaboration between U.S. companies and the Taiwanese government on policy development. In her work, Zoe mainly focuses on organizing events and delivering platforms for intimate and safe discussions. In her personal time, she finds joy in knitting and chess.

Beyond her work and hobbies, Zoe’s greatest passion lies in meeting people and exchanging ideas on various topics. Having been exposed to an international group of people in the past few years, she feels they have influenced her opinions in many aspects of life, including the decision to get a master’s degree:

“It has been 10 years since I finished my undergraduate degree, and I genuinely never thought I would end up doing a master’s. However, a wide range of people from different backgrounds and the international environment I have been part of convinced me otherwise. In particular, I met a Minerva alumnus, Leon Huang, at a Worldviews Academy course, who recommended Minerva to me. We were pretty late in the application season at the time, so I only had a week to apply. It was last-minute, but I had enough support to make it through.”

Zoe is particularly appreciative of the international aspect of the program that she believes will support her professional goals:

“Before the program starts, we have a list of recommended readings, and we get the chance to interact with some of the Minerva students. It is so great and refreshing to meet people from all around the world—it’s one of the aspects I find most exciting and important in my upcoming Minerva journey. I also think Minerva students are quite open in sharing their ideas and thoughts. I enjoy being in an environment where I am encouraged to speak and debate. I know the program has not even started yet and there is a lot ahead of me, but I am already quite impressed.”

Currently, Zoe is part of the Events and Marketing Team at the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan, where her daily work involves meeting a number of industry leaders within the Chamber. The organization facilitates relation building, conversations and network opportunities through events:

“We connect people in person, as we believe questions are best decided when a trusted relationship is built.”

Zoe was drawn to Minerva’s Master in Decision Making and Applied Analytics program as she sees it as an opportunity to refine her decision-making abilities for her career.

“Sometimes, when I talk to experts in different industries at the NGO I work at, I am not as knowledgeable as they are, so I find it hard to make a well-informed and fair decision on the spot. I feel like decision-making is something I need, especially when I am lacking context or I am not as experienced as my stakeholders. By learning how to make informed decisions based on a scientific approach, I can expect a fairer and more open result for both the companies and my life.”