Student Profile: Minh Nghiem, MSCAPP Class of 2025

After finishing her undergraduate degree in business at California State University, Fullerton in California, Minh Nghiem, a native of Vietnam who came to the U.S. to complete her senior year of college, graduated into a job market depressed by COVID-19.

“Fortunately, the pandemic gave me time and space to realize that a business degree may not have been the path for me,” Nghiem said. “I was involved in student organizations both in the US and in Vietnam, and I realized I wanted to help people and make an impact on issues that I care about.”

The pandemic amplified housing insecurity, so Nghiem joined the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) and was based in Orange County, California. There, she assisted in program design and coordination. "And I got to wondering," she said, "if the program was prioritizing the most at-risk people and its resources were equitably distributed?"

As the program rolled up in Southern California, Nghiem eventually transitioned to ERAP in Alameda County of the Bay Area, where she set to work answering those questions. “We built a database from our applications that featured a priority index so we could give more weight to applications from areas with the highest risk of homelessness,” she explained. “We shifted our focus away from strictly finances and performance-based, or the number of applications processed, and to bolstering access and funneling limited resources to those who needed them the most.”

Seeing the impact of her work bear fruit at a local level, Nghiem set her sights on broader horizons. “But programs don’t last forever; funding dries out. A new question took shape, and I started to wonder how we could scale these programs into policies that create sustainable impact with regard to battling homelessness. I realized my business degree wasn’t sufficient to answer those questions.”

Nghiem’s desire to gain data and policy design expertise led her to the MS in Computer Science and Public Policy (MSCAPP) program at the Harris School of Public Policy.

“Being co-led by the Department of Computer Science and Harris sets MSCAPP apart from other programs. Plus, the students and alumni network boast great diversity and lead such inspiring career paths: I wanted to be a part of a student body with such different experiences who I can team up with and learn from.”

Chicago also struck Nghiem as a perfect place to live—both for its cultural attractions and its strong civic commitment.

“You can’t beat Chicago. It has this sense of community that makes you feel like you belong wherever you are. I also noticed that there are a lot of movements and emphasis on policy. The city has challenges that many cities deal with, but Chicago is always trying to get better. Its beauty and gritty character resonate with me, and the efforts to make it a better place resonates with my focus on public policy.”

At Harris, Nghiem wasted no time in exploring the interdisciplinary range of public policy issues the Harris curriculum has to offer.

“Housing policy has a lot to do with the political and social issues rooted in the US, but I intend to go back to Vietnam at some point—and housing policy is not as much of a problem there. To that end, I've been exploring urban policy as my focus, because it encompasses a lot of things—housing, transportation, climate, and even waste management. One of the best things about UChicago is you have the opportunity to explore because there are so many resources and organizations on campus. Any skills you want to develop or topics you want to explore—it’s here.”