“In the Arts & Humanities College, those location-based assignments and the chances to really dig into your own relationship with the city were so much more profound than in other courses that I took. We got to engage with organizations on the ground, with the (often troubling) histories of the city, and work through our own relationship with them in expressive formats. I found that really amazing. I learned so much about the cities we lived in.”
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Brittany Dick,
Class of 2024, New Zealand

Tobias, Class of 2023, previously served as a Research & Communications Intern at Whiteboard Advisors.

“My job is to research all of the newest trends and laws within education policy and convey those insights to the firm’s clients. I started working at Whiteboard Advisors last August as an intern and was able to continue working with them throughout the year. I heard about Whiteboard in freshman year because I joined a student consulting initiative where a few of us came together to discuss opportunities in the consulting world. My Minerva concentrations in Politics and Cognitive Sciences support me in how I conduct research at Whiteboard and what frameworks I use in my work. As my work at Whiteboard is very well aligned with my major, one of the big projects I'm working on at Whiteboard will become a case study in my capstone project.”
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Tobias Martin,
Class of 2023, Argentina

"I really care about human rights, and you can tackle these from so many different fronts. With the education I got from Minerva and my aspirations, I want to work with human rights law. I like to think about what legal obligations countries have with international law and how we can get them to do more. I may not have a law education yet, but Minerva equipped me with the frameworks and basics of international law. My Capstone project is about the responsibility of states to protect populations against the worst types of crimes and human rights violations. Right after Minerva, I want to work with international organizations, think tanks, and nonprofit organizations to start creating the impact that I care about, specifically improving decision-making, nudging countries and leaders, and creating incentives for the development of rights. In a couple of years, I want to go to law school to further my studies."

Camila Loureiro,
Class of 2022, Brazil

“My Capstone not only serves as a protest art against Serbia keeping 2,000 artifacts hostage from Kosovo but also evokes feelings of obligation and responsibility at times, as well as occasional self-doubt at others – as an undergraduate female without a Ph.D., I am undertaking the groundbreaking task of documenting previously unexplored context about the Illyrians, including history's first-ever visual representation of Illyrian mythological creatures. I used the opportunity of creating my Capstone to connect with many mentors, including a National Geographic photographer who encouraged me to apply for a National Geographic grant to continue my project after graduation.“
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Ujeza Ademi,
Class of 2023, Kosovo

"I loved the exposure from the core courses to various aspects of business, like marketing, finance, operations, and strategy, which allowed me to gain a complex understanding of the business sphere, as well as to find a path the career path I want to pursue. The assignments are open-ended and allow you to focus on what you find the most relevant for your portfolio and future career. You can take every task further and learn in your desired direction. The community of business-oriented students, including professors and alums, is unique. As networking is an integral part of business, everyone is open to sharing their resources, tips, and experiences. I found myself able to learn so much from my peers, upper-level students, and instructors."
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Yaroslava Pohorielova,
‍Class of 2026, Ukraine

“My favorite Location-Based Assignment (LBA) was from a finance class I took in my second year. For this LBA, I was required to do an evaluation and analysis of one business for an audience interested in investing. By using the financial information of a restaurant I worked at during the semester, I made estimations and forecasted if the restaurant would be profitable in the future. I had to review everything I learned throughout the semester to make sure all the assumptions I used for financial forecasting made sense. I had to calculate everything from scratch. Afterward, I felt more comfortable applying the skills from my class in a real-world experience because this is what a real company does. Whenever I interview for a company, they are interested in what LBAs I have done because it proves that I can do a case study for a real business.”
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Jiyeop Kim,
‍Class of 2023, South Korea

"Throughout my degree, I interned at startups based in San Francisco and London and also worked with one of the largest advertisers in the United States. This range of experiences helped me apply a lot of the concepts that we initially learned in class, and supercharged my learning by practicing marketing for real-world companies that are working towards meaningful impact. For example, I first heard about growth hacking at Curious Cardinals as an intern and was excited to hear that one of the Brand Management courses at Minerva was essentially centered around this. I brought my industry knowledge to class, which provided a much stronger foundation for my learning throughout the semester. On the other hand, when working for the Ad Council, I got to discover concepts such as influencer marketing and events planning, which weren't detailed in our curriculum."
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Andi Bucescu,
Class of 2025, Romania

“My Capstone is about answering the question, ‘How can small enterprises in Rwanda create and implement successful digital transformation strategies?’ I was generally interested in applying the concepts I learned throughout Minerva in Rwanda, a context I am really familiar with. Additionally, I spent the last two summers interning at Autodesk and Microsoft where I focused on contributing to a company’s digital transformation strategy. My Capstone has been an interesting journey, but with the help from my advisor and Capstone classmates, I have been given a  lot of feedback, which helps with the process.”
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Mark Ndoli,
Class of 2022, Rwanda

“My first exposure to coding was through the summer assessment that Minerva sent to us prior to our freshman year. We were asked to get familiar with Python and practice a bit before starting the semester. I had never coded before and was very surprised to get an email informing me about my selection as a Python peer tutor at the end of the summer. Since then, I have been inseparable from computer science and have worked on many exciting projects. Some of them were centered around designing a network simulation on ambulance response times in Metro Manila, Philippines, and using Machine Learning in predicting whether a loan application should be approved or not. Data science classes at Minerva gave me important tools for approaching data and asking the right questions to get to the core of a problem— something I was able to implement while analyzing data about international students in Germany in regards to their preference for online VS offline classes.

It is fascinating how many insights we can get just by understanding what the numbers tell us as if every data set has its own story.”

Lance Aquino,
Class of 2022, Philippines

Nourien, Class of 2025, previously joined Microsoft & Cyborg Mobile as a Software Engineer for a competitive summer internship.

“The Computational Sciences classes at Minerva intrigued me to learn more even outside of the classroom. My internship program allows me to explore both software engineering and product management skillsets as I work on developing a web or mobile application going through the design and launch processes in only 7 weeks. This allowed me to dive deep into how the learning concepts we take in class could be implemented into useful products in industry and real-life situations. Not only did the Computational Sciences classes help me do that, but I also found myself subconsciously applying the design thinking skills learned at Minerva and other concepts as I am developing the app.”

Nourien Fouad,
Class of 2025, Egypt

Daniel, Class of 2023, spent two summers interning at PWC as an Advanced Cyber Security Engineering Intern while enrolled at Minerva,

“At Minerva, we are taught to constantly think quickly on our feet, break down problems, and find solutions. Although I do not have a lot of experience in cyber security, my problem-solving and social skills will help me learn quickly. I am excited to work on this team and learn from fellow engineers on more complex problems than what I have experienced before. My concentration at Minerva is Applied Problem Solving, which is generally geared to people who want to be high-tech entrepreneurs. This internship supports my aspirations of starting my own tech company by advancing my field knowledge and helping me build a network of mentors.”

Daniel Kalu,
Class of 2023, Nigeria

"My Capstone is a combination of an IOS app and machine learning model that is used to help plant owners take better care of their plants. With a photo of the plant, the app can identify diseases, how much sunlight, water, and fertilizer it needs, and the ideal temperature for the plant. I chose this topic after taking part in the Minerva/Masason Foundation AI lab in-semester program where I focused on optimizing the vertical farming system. After learning how difficult it is to make vertical farming cost effective, I decided to focus my Capstone on individual planters by supporting them with their houseplants. Capstone is all about stretching the mind to new possibilities, which is exhausting, but it has been a rewarding experience."
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Arnav Hazra,
Class of 2022, India

“Majoring in Natural Sciences at Minerva allowed me to understand and value the complexity of life, from the smallest scales with genes and molecules, to the largest scales involving complicated interactions with different species and components of the world. One of my favorite things about Minerva classes was applying class content in real life through location-based assignments (LBAs). Those assignments require real-world interaction with the city, which often led me to amazing experiences. I observed and analyzed major rock formations, ecosystems, species, and chemical reactions in each of the cities that I lived in during the Minerva rotation program. One of my favorites involved analyzing fermentation reactions in my kitchen in London. I made kombucha and monitored its chemical reactions for several weeks. Thus, I was able to gain practical experience on the topics we were studying in the classroom.”

Sofia Villa,
Class of 2022, Mexico

David, Class of 2023, previously joined the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, part of the Ron Yu Lab, as a biomedical science research intern.

“For my research, I studied the neural circuits of mice that are responsible for the sense of smell, specifically how odor perception is innately found in these mice. At Minerva, I have learned a lot about how to read research papers, how to interpret and critique experiments, and neuroscience concepts that will be useful for my internship. I want to go to graduate school after Minerva, so having lab experience is crucial.”

David Mikhael,
Class of 2023, Egypt

"In my summer at EARTH University, I had a glimpse of the numerous ways in which waste can be helpful, either by creating compost for regenerative agriculture or creating other products for consumers. There is always something to do with what we call "trash." Waste management at EARTH is very interconnected and serves various purposes. They collect organic waste from the farms and the cafeteria and send them to the Integrated Organic Farm, so they produce compost. This compost is then used for taking care of the soil in all farms, and the cycle continues. They also feed Black Soldier Fly Larvae with the waste from the cafeteria, making great feed for animals like chicken and fish!"
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Leonardo Estrella,
Class of 2026, Mexico

Marharyta, Class of 2020, worked on advancing early breast cancer detection.

“My Capstone project was focused on early breast cancer detection. I analyzed a dataset and predicted the likelihood of a female developing cancer in the coming years, focusing on prevention rather than cure. This approach has numerous benefits, including better prognosis, improved patient well-being, and reduced healthcare spending. Right now, I am doing something pretty similar in a sense that I have this healthcare data set, and I have a goal of how we can make use of it or make it better. I learned many of these tools and techniques at Minerva. I had one very nice tutorial on deep learning at Minerva, which got me into Artificial Intelligence. My experiences now are a direct result of what I was doing a few years ago at Minerva.”

Marharyta Kurban,
Class of 2020, Belarus

“The Location-Based Assignment (LBA) I am most fond of at this moment is the one I did for one of my Social Sciences classes in Seoul, South Korea. The LBA assignment asked us to explore ethical problems through a discussion with a local.I chose a problem I had been thinking about for a few years. During World War II, Imperial Japan systematically deceived and abducted South Korean women to be sexual slaves for their military. The victims have been protesting in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul for the past 30 years, demanding justice for the atrocities. In class, we learned about ethical concepts and how they are applied to social contexts. Through my LBA, we discussed how Japan and South Korea could resolve the issue while considering the different ethical theories and their impact on the community.”
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Nara Erdenebileg,
‍Class of 2025, Mongolia

Vlad, Class of 2025, previously interned at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the digital and cyber diplomacy department.
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“I have been curious about foreign affairs ever since high school, but I gained more knowledge regarding political science theories in my Political Science and Social Change course. At the end of the course, while discussing careers in political science, I said to myself, "I would love to try out diplomacy one day." Right after that course, I started my application for this internship. A while later, during one of my Comparative Constitutional Law classes, my professor shared a fascinating article on diplomacy in my part of the world that provided me with insights I used in my application.”
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Vlad Virtonen,
‍Class of 2025, Estonia

“My Capstone is about the importance of social capital in ending homelessness. I have been volunteering with Miracle Messages since my second year of Minerva, and when I was presented an opportunity to run a program evaluation for Miracle Messages’ Basic Income pilot program, I decided to make it my Capstone. The evaluation shows that Basic Income + social support changes lives (66% secured housing). My Capstone concludes with recommendations on how social support programs can be implemented and infused into government programs.”
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Julia Ip,
‍Class of 2022, Canada