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From Taiwan to Los Angeles, Social Entrepreneurship Student Builds Legacy at USC Marshall

From Taiwan to Los Angeles, Social Entrepreneurship Student Builds Legacy at USC Marshall

Recent graduate Rikke Yeh moves beyond the familiar to foster growth, innovation.

by: Avni Shah
07.28.25
Rikke Yeh at the Coliseum

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Rikke Yeh ’25 had long found it difficult to answer the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” But over time, her choices helped define how she wanted to impact the world around her. Yeh, an international student from Taiwan, left her childhood home to find a new sense of belonging at USC Marshall’s Master of Science in Social Entrepreneurship (MSSE) program. The journey was both unexpected and full of lessons she’s looking back upon post-graduation, culminating in a time of change that has her poised for her next chapter.

Yeh’s journey to MSSE began in her home country of Taiwan. After completing her bachelor’s degree at National Chung Cheng University, she spent three years volunteering at a leadership-oriented non-profit focused on youth entrepreneurship. After a while, however, she felt she’d exhausted her knowledge on new venture formation. Yeh wanted to expand her mentees’ horizons — and soon realized that to do so, she’d need to broaden her own repertoire of business strategies and tools.

A friend recommended the USC Marshall Master of Science in Social Entrepreneurship (MSSE) program. It was exactly the type of program Yeh had been looking for — one that would balance business and social impact.

“When I saw USC had social entrepreneurship, I knew this was where I wanted to go. I only applied to this school and this major,” Yeh said.

In the summer of 2023, Yeh joined MSSE’s 10th cohort, leaving behind everything she knew in Taiwan, moving to Los Angeles, and starting the most dramatic transition of her life.

“I wasn’t speaking English full-time and I didn’t feel fully myself,” she said.

When I saw USC had social entrepreneurship, I knew this was where I wanted to go. I only applied to this school and this major.

— Rikke Yeh ’25

MSSE Graduate

At first, Yeh connected with other students who primarily spoke Mandarin, but she quickly realized that if she wanted to grow from this experience, she’d have to step out of her comfort zone.

In two years at USC, Yeh overcame numerous obstacles. Growing more comfortable with English, she identified as many campus resources as possible, from ideation work at the Greif Launchpad to attending Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab lecture series to expand her knowledge set.

Yeh also sought mentorship as part of the MSSE Legacy Mentorship program, which pairs current MSSE students with MSSE alumni. She credits mentors John Tsai ’18 and Jordana Mendonça Valdés ’23 with helping her overcome imposter syndrome, gain confidence, and navigate competing priorities.

“She told me I need to think differently about the credits I have and not focus on what I lack. She gave me a lot of courage and confidence surrounding what I’ve done that I really needed at that time,” Yeh said of Valdés.

This idea of moving forward, despite anxiety or discomfort, is one that led Yeh to take advantage of more opportunities.. Not only did she take part in events, workshops, classes, and competitions, but she also worked as a teaching assistant with professors including Jessica Jackley (Founder of Kiva), Kenneth Perlman (Partner at CultureSync), ShiaoFong Yin (Angel Investor), Jared Grusd (Previous CSO of Snapchat and General Counsel at Spotify), and Molly Schmid (Consultant at UCI Beall Applied Innovation and Pasadena SBDC), supporting courses such as Social Entrepreneurship, Designing High-Performance Organizations, Technology Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship in Innovative Industries: Life Sciences, and the High-Growth Startup.

“There’s no resource you can’t get,” Yeh said of USC Marshall. “It’s whether you’re willing to push yourself forward in order to get those resources.”

After she began her MSSE career, Yeh had the opportunity to reflect on her leadership experiences at a 2024 TEDxYouth@IBSH talk. In the talk “What is the Answer?”, she spoke about her experiences as a counselor, community lead, and lecturer with the Global Leadership Organization and about its social impact-a-thon. She also spoke about lessons learned from life’s twists and turns, ups and downs, particularly after her father’s death.

“There are always trade-offs,” she said. “There’s good things about the culture where I was born and raised, and my family is all there. But sometimes, I wished I was born in the U.S., where there are more opportunities. The culture I have embraced right now is a mix of east and west.”

Looking forward, Yeh is excited about continuing to learn and grow, outside of her comfort zone.

“Throughout my journey, I realized entrepreneurship is like self-discovery, where I see a lot of people exploring and doing whatever they want,” Yeh said. “That inspired me to think, ‘What do I really want? What is my next journey?’”

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