A Conversation with Minerva Graduate Student Leon Hsueh

This is part of a series of profiles introducing students from Minerva’s incoming Fall 2024 graduate class. If you would like to learn more about our programs, please visit our website.

Originally from Taipei, Taiwan, Leon began her journey in software engineering, working in startups across cities like Beijing and New York. She was a self-taught student throughout 6-year high school and this background allowed her to dive deep into computer science, which she pursued in her early career before college. However, a natural curiosity about how capital shapes the world led her to a pivot toward the financial sector, where she completed her Bachelor’s degree in 2022, majoring in finance.

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Leon describes her experience working as a buy-side investor as a lot of fun, because it is a job based on understanding how the world works and further making impacts on how it will work in the future. After her experiences in various aspects of finance, including investment banking, private equity, and venture capital, she felt compelled to transition into something with a broader social impact. This is what steered her toward the field of impact investing, a space where she could combine her technical expertise with a commitment to address global challenges such as climate change and wealth inequality.

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"Why I chose to conduct self-taught learning, instead of schooling, is because, for me, learning something is basically like downloading data and algorithms into your brain. Since the advent of the internet, you can acquire almost any knowledge for free, tapping into a massive, limitless database. Traditional education, by contrast, often offers only a relatively small, yet paid version of this wealth of knowledge. As a kid, I used to wonder how anyone could settle for this deal—paying for something when it is already free on the market. I thought: If I’m going to pay for something, it should be for the second layer of knowledge—how to combine these different knowledge in order to solve specific real-world problems. That’s what sets Minerva apart. We share this value, and that’s a deal I’m willing to take."

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Leon first learned about Minerva University through peers who had studied there. She was captivated by the school’s commitment to applying second-order thinking rather than just acquiring knowledge, something that resonated with her own approach to learning.

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"Especially in the AI era, with the incredible complexity and the rate of change, things that people are familiar with in their whole life could work in completely different ways tomorrow or next month. Therefore, the ability and the rate of learning matter. If I have to think from scratch on a brand-new problem, how do I approach it? In order to do so, I need a dynamic framework for thinking."

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In particular, the Master in Decision Making and Applied Analytics’ focus on second-order thinking and problem-solving frameworks aligned with her desire to use early-stage capital as a tool for addressing systemic social issues and ensuring that human future remains bright.

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"In investment businesses, decision-making itself is a form of action and execution. So I came to Minerva with a specific problem in mind: how early-stage capital can help ensure that future capacity remains viable. Over the past semester at Minerva, I’ve learned the importances of carefully characterizing and defining the problem before solving it, how the constraints amazingly unlock creativity, and iteratively breaking the larger problem down into smaller, more manageable and tractable sub-problems. This approach allows me to address each piece one by one, and in doing so, eventually solve the larger issue. It’s much like the divide-and-conquer algorithm. The frameworks Minerva provides are incredibly useful in this regard."

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In Leon’s eyes, Minerva has set itself apart by fostering an international community that shares values beyond traditional education. "My peers come from diverse countries, cultural backgrounds, and, most importantly, areas of expertise. Even though I'm in the investment industry, I can learn from their skill sets and gain valuable advice. In return, I can offer my own insights and knowledge. That’s the true beauty of this environment—the mutual exchange and growth it fosters" she reflects."
Looking ahead, Leon is eager to apply the skills and frameworks she’s learning at Minerva to her future work in impact investing, emphasizing on deep technology in biomanufacturing and AI. She believes that the rigorous, interdisciplinary approach to decision-making will allow her to navigate the investing decisions in the fast-changing world while making huge impacts on shaping the world to a better one.