Duke’s Fuqua School of Business offers scholarships each year to individuals with social sector backgrounds who are looking to acquire business skills for use in their pursuit of social impact. The CASE Social Sector Scholarship brings in amazing students who add a richness to the Fuqua student body and bring their unique perspectives to the classroom. We are proud to announce our new CASE Scholars with this week featuring Tiffany Hsieh. You can read about our other scholars here.
Tiffany Hsieh comes to Fuqua with a passion for finding community-driven, equitable solutions to the problems facing underserved populations. She spent the first part of her career working in international development; first at Africare, a nonprofit specializing in sustainable community development, and then at the Uganda Village Project as a board member helping grow their community-based health program.
After this, Tiffany focused her career on education because she believes that education is a key lever for ensuring equitable opportunity. For two years, Tiffany taught middle school special education in Colorado with Teach for America. Most recently, Tiffany worked at the intersection of policy and practice in SRI International’s Center for Education Policy, a nonprofit research institute. There, she conducted impact evaluations of various education programs across the country, working with nonprofit organizations to measure their effectiveness and providing them with formative feedback that led to improved programs for students and teachers.
Why Fuqua?
I wanted my experience at business school to push me outside my comfort zone and the world of nonprofits, while allowing me to remain grounded in the social impact space. Team Fuqua is real and it provides a safe and supportive environment to try new things – including scaling a 14-foot wall during Global Institute. Additionally, CASE’s programming and support for students interested in social impact was a big factor in my decision to attend Fuqua.
Last but not least, I was attracted to Fuqua’s emphasis on developing a diverse community of consequential leaders. Fuqua truly values developing leaders who value diversity and conduct business with all stakeholders in mind, even when it is difficult.
What impact do you hope your Fuqua education will allow you to have on the world?
My Fuqua education will give me a different perspective on how private sector organizations operate so that I can use relevant business approaches (quantitative analysis, finance, accounting, etc.) as tools for positive impact in the social sector. The problems of the social sector are difficult and nuanced, and require creative solutions. To address these problems and ensure equitable opportunities for all, I’ll need the strategic decision-making and leadership skills that I plan to develop here at Fuqua.
Share one of the 25 facts from your application essay
I love spicy food! The more tingle- and sniffle-inducing, the better.