Nathan Chen, SEAS ’25, is a rising sophomore from Auckland, New Zealand studying Systems Science and Engineering. He hopes to go into public policy or consulting after college and work towards finding innovative and efficient solutions to our biggest problems.
Nathan joined PIT@Penn in his freshman year, and quickly grew interested in the array of topics the club traversed and the diversity of the speakers who had interests in the broad area of public interest technology. He helped plan a skill share on scholarly writing and civic tech, as well as a fireside chat covering the intersection of biology and public interest. In his second semester in the club, Nathan assumed the role of President, and has worked alongside his committed peers to grow PIT@Penn’s presence on campus and increase outreach efforts. In Spring 2022, PIT@Penn launched their Instagram page, and also began to establish relations with other Penn clubs with similar interests, as well as other PIT clubs from across America.
In the coming years, PIT@Penn will look to host events including more speaker panels and career and internship fairs. Nathan hopes that membership will grow further, in the future and that students from all of Penn’s four undergraduate schools will engage with PIT@Penn’s efforts.
Outside of PIT@Penn, Nathan is involved in multiple extracurricular activities including the Engineering Deans’ Advisory Board, Penn Policy Consulting, SEAS Wellness as a project lead for the Wellness Newsletter, and Global Research and Consulting (GRC). Nathan hopes to utilize his diverse interests and passion for civic engagement to inspire students to interact with the public interest technology realm.