Alumni Spotlight: Maho Taketani (Class of 2017)

From cozy tea chats at RBC to consulting across continents, Maho’s journey is rooted in the quiet courage to step out of comfort zones and bring others along.

Originally from Japan, Maho arrived at UWC Robert Bosch College in 2015, part of the college’s second generation. “At RBC, I felt like I could talk to anyone, try new ideas, and lead without fear,” she shares. She recalls long brunches turning into three-hour conversations, sitting in friends’ rooms with tea, and the comfort of a community where showing up authentically was the norm.

She didn’t just participate, she helped shape traditions, co-creating handprint rituals for graduation and helping build the college’s culture of openness and care. “There was this spirit that if you wanted to try something, people would support you,” Maho says, remembering how the RBC environment encouraged her to step into leadership while staying deeply connected to others.

After RBC, Maho studied sociology at Cambridge, supported by the encouragement of her RBC tutor who saw her potential even when she doubted it herself. She then returned to Tokyo, working in consulting with a focus on cross-cultural projects, supporting clients across Australia, Southeast Asia, and South Africa. “Working in such different cultural contexts excites me,” she says. “I know that if I had only stayed in Japan, I wouldn’t have been able to adapt and build connections as easily. RBC taught me how to be curious, adaptable, and to think creatively across differences.”

Even as she thrived in Tokyo’s comfort and familiarity, Maho felt the quiet UWC nudge to keep challenging herself. Earlier this year, she moved to New York to join a larger consulting hub, stepping into a new chapter in one of the world’s busiest cities while continuing her career. “I felt it was time to push myself again,” she reflects. And true to the RBC spirit, she didn’t arrive alone. Within weeks, Maho was reconnecting with UWC friends she had met nearly a decade ago.

Maho, thank you for your courage to keep building community wherever you are and for living the UWC mission in New York and beyond.