Stories

Stories from the Minerva Community

From classrooms to cities around the world, these are the stories of how Minerva students, alumni, and faculty apply what they learn to real challenges, careers, and communities.

Featured

May 13, 2026

Minerva Students Pitch Big Ideas at Venture Café Tokyo

A recap of an evening connecting Minerva students with Tokyo’s innovation community.

May 6, 2026

Inside San Francisco with City Director Matthew Paffhouse

A conversation with Matthew Paffhouse, City Director, San Francisco.

May 20, 2026

Minerva Alum Alexia Benakova on Art, AI, and Creating Her Own Path in San Francisco

Meet Minerva alum Alexia Benakova, whose journey from global classrooms to San Francisco’s art and AI spaces is redefining what a creative career can look like.

Browse Stories

Explore stories from across the Minerva community—student experiences, alumni paths, faculty perspectives, and insights on learning and leadership.

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Minerva Students Pitch Big Ideas at Venture Café Tokyo

A recap of an evening connecting Minerva students with Tokyo’s innovation community.

Student Initiatives

Student Stories

Business

Inside San Francisco with City Director Matthew Paffhouse

A conversation with Matthew Paffhouse, City Director, San Francisco.

Faculty & Staff

Minerva Alum Alexia Benakova on Art, AI, and Creating Her Own Path in San Francisco

Meet Minerva alum Alexia Benakova, whose journey from global classrooms to San Francisco’s art and AI spaces is redefining what a creative career can look like.

Alumni Outcomes

Two Nippon Foundation Scholars Join Minerva's Class of 2030

Get to know this year’s Nippon Foundation Scholars, Kiyomi Koide and Sakura Matsuzuka.

“Not Quite a Tourist, Not Quite a Local”: Minerva Students Reflect on Four Years Across Borders

At Minerva University’s 2026 graduation ceremony, student speakers Wisdom Ifode and Jonathan Shamwana reflected on courage, community, and the relationships built across four years of living and learning around the world.

Global Experience

Student Stories

“Go Out in the World and Be a Sentence”: Adam Met and Mike Magee Reflect on Identity, Community, and Global Citizenship at Minerva University’s 2026 Graduation

Commencement speaker Adam Met and President Mike Magee reflected on identity and the importance of community during Minerva University's 2026 graduation.

Executive Education

How One Minerva Student is Preserving an Endangered Indigenous Language

Explore how Alex Korablev (M27) is using AI to help preserve Qom, an endangered Indigenous language spoken in Argentina.

"Better Thinkers. Better Leaders. Better People.”: MDA Graduates Reflect on Community and Decision-Making at Minerva University

MDA graduate Katarzyna Buszka reflected on decision-making and community at Minerva University’s 2026 graduation ceremony.

Graduate Programs

Student Stories

First Generation, Global Ambitions: Pietro de Souza (M27) on Finding His Path at Minerva

Learn how Pietro de Souza (M27), a first-generation student from Brazil, overcame barriers, secured multiple scholarships, and found a global community at Minerva.

Student Stories

Minerva Alum Jiayuan Tian Joins St. Gallen's Top 100 “Leaders of Tomorrow”

What does it mean to be a "Leader of Tomorrow"? M25 alum Jiayuan Tian reflects on his St. Gallen Symposium experience and how Minerva shaped his approach to global leadership.

Alumni Outcomes

Where Polar Science Meets Math Modeling and Creative Expression: Annabel Schön’s Journey

Meet Annabel Schön (M25), whose Minerva experience led from conservation research to advancing snow modeling in the Arctic

Alumni Outcomes

From Minerva to European Policymaking: How Gereon Fju Mewes Is Advancing Sustainability Through Governance

Minerva alum Gereon Fju Mewes discusses how an interdisciplinary, global education prepared him to advance sustainability and circular economy policy across Europe.

Alumni Outcomes

How Minerva Led Yutaro Shimizu from Biology to Space Technology

Learn how Minerva's interdisciplinary education helped Yutaro Shimizu (M23) launch a career in deep tech and Japan's expanding space industry.

Alumni Outcomes

Focus on refining your "way of life" rather than just your skills. A "new education" has emerged that will overturn the traditional image of Japanese leadership.

The image of global leadership is undergoing a major transformation. Each country prioritizes its own claims, and differing values clash. The previously shared international order is wavering, and logical dialogue alone is no longer sufficient to navigate the global landscape. How can the leaders of island nation Japan demonstrate their presence in this turbulent global environment? This article explores the qualities required of leaders in 2026.

December 5, 2024

Minerva University President on US College Closures

Minerva University President Michael Magee discusses college closures as they're expected to rise. He speaks with Scarlet Fu on "Bloomberg Markets."

November 15, 2025

More competitive than Harvard? Minerva University establishes a base in Tokyo.

Faced with the prospect of an annual cost of approximately 7 million yen, 19-year-old Emi Ya maguchi was both happy and shaken by her acceptance. The university she was accepted to i s Minerva University—a university known for its low acceptance rate, which has led some to s ay it's "even harder to get into than Harvard University," and which has been ranked as the "w orld's most innovative university" for four consecutive years in the international university ran kings (WURI: The World University Rankings for Innovation).

From Satellites to Refill Stations: How Taher (M27) Is Using Tech to Tackle Environmental Problems

Discover how Taher (M27) is using AI and data to tackle real-world sustainability challenges

Student Stories

Sustainability & Impact

Computational Sciences

How Tatiana Tylosky Uses Decision Frameworks to Build Better Companies

Learn more about how Tatiana Tylosky’s journey from Minerva University's MDA program led her to found OpenLedger, rethinking how work is defined, priced, and delivered.

Alumni Outcomes

Graduate Programs

Business

Yerkezhan’s (M27) Research Journey at UC Berkeley

Learn more about M27 Yerkezhan Toleukhan and her passion for molecular biology and research lab experience at UC Berkeley.

Student Stories

Innovation & Research

Natural Sciences

How Emma Zhang Found Her Path in History, Policy, and Storytelling

Learn about Emma Zhang (M27), whose passion for military history and creative writing shapes her work in foreign policy and historical storytelling.

Student Stories

Arts & Humanities

Social Sciences