10/28/2026
Welcome back to our series spotlighting the newest members of our Berkeley IEOR graduate community!
Meet Samantha Chen, a Master of Analytics student in the Class of 2027 with a background in statistics and an interest in improving financial decision-making.
What inspired Samantha to pursue graduate studies in IEOR?
“Using optimization to turn statistical insight into better decisions, from allocating capital to hedging risk. I want to learn to not just analyze financial systems, but engineer better ones.”
From leading a customer analytics project for PChome to working on derivatives analytics at Yuanta Securities, Samantha has explored how technical modeling can inform real-world business decisions.
Outside the classroom, she enjoys Texas Hold’em, where she puts her love of probability and reading people into practice! ♠️
Swipe through to get to know Samantha, and stay tuned as we introduce more of the students who make up our Berkeley IEOR community!