M Stories: Join Mathilda's Club

Zonta International believes that young women are the key to women’s advancement in the field of public service. To support this belief, the organization offers the Young Women in Leadership Award, which recognizes young women, ages 16-19, who take on responsibility and leadership in volunteer roles and are committed to empowering women worldwide.

This year, 6 students from Munich International School participated in the Zonta program, and two of them won the top two awards. One of the winners, Mathilda Tsai, a Grade 12 student from Taiwan, took the 2nd place recognition in Zonta.

For Mathilda home has never been one place. A third culture kid, she has lived in six countries, carrying with her not just suitcases, but a growing understanding of people, cultures, and the invisible threads that connect them. Each move brought new challenges—language barriers, cultural shifts, feelings of being in-between—but also deepened her curiosity about society and the forces that shape it.

It was at MIS where these scattered experiences began to form a clearer picture. Faced with the complexities of constant change, Mathilda turned inward to ask what truly mattered to her. In Sociology, she found her answer—a lens to understand the inequalities and systems that impact lives around the world. Her academic curiosity quickly grew into something more: a desire to be part of the solution.

School became not just a place of learning but of transformation. As president of the Global Issue Network Club, Mathilda channeled her experiences into action.

“As an executive member of the Kaohsiung chapter and the founder and president of the Munich chapter, I have constantly aimed to advance GIN's missions to achieve the 17 UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. As a leader in both chapters, I have managed club funds, membership recruitment, communication with students, faculty, and external organizations.” - Mathilda shared.

At the same time, her work as a translation intern at the Chimei Fine Arts Museum in Taiwan to translate for the Chimei website, artwork descriptions by the museum in order to helping bridge access for non-native speakers, a reminder that inclusion begins with understanding.

“My bilingual abilities have enabled me to make the arts accessible to a wider audience.” - explains Mathilda.

Balancing roles came naturally to Mathilda. At local churches in Taiwan, Austria, and Germany, she served as the main piano accompanist during services, hymnals, and evangelical convocations - her music offering a quiet kind of leadership. At the same church, she continued to serve her community—mentoring children, volunteering by providing Chinese-English consecutive interpretation and teach religious education in person and remotely to kindergarten and elementary students. Her faith didn’t just root her—it inspired her to act.

Over time, she realized her dream wasn’t just to understand the world, but to change it. She now aspires to pursue environmental law, hoping to serve in a government body where she can help shape policy that tackles the climate crisis and champions social justice.

Mathilda’s story is one of movement, but it is also one of grounding. Through challenge, she discovered not only what inspires her, but she mobilized groups of students on two continents to care and take action through her GIN club leadership.  Her efforts have won her well-deserved recognition from the Zonta International Award.  Mathilda graduates this year and moves beyond Munich International School, to join young men and women all over the world who know their value and have every intention of making the world a better place.