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Not On My Resume: Suzanne Goh

June 17, 2022

Suzanne Goh is a 2001 Fellow, a pediatric neurologist, and the founder and chief medical officer of Cortica, a healthcare service organization for children with neurodevelopment differences. Suzanne was born in Toledo, Ohio, to immigrants from Taiwan and Malaysia.

Why did you (or your family) come to America? My dad first came to America for medical training and decided to have my mom join him because he felt a sense of opportunity, equality, and freedom that he had not felt anywhere else.

Which living New American do you most admire? My husband Neil.

What is your current state of mind? Positive, even.

When was the last time you felt imposter syndrome? Hard to say. I think we are always in the process of adapting our identities—so we are all imposters to some degree, and I find that idea comforting.

What is your greatest fear? The Buddhist nun Pema Chodron teaches about welcoming the unwelcome. Fears come all the time—big and small—but once welcomed they really can begin to dissolve.

If you could change careers and do anything, what would it be? Writer or musician/composer.

What is your idea of a good life? If you have life, you have meaning and purpose; all life with meaning and purpose is a good life.
 
What is the one habit that you can’t live without? Movement, exercise.

What one piece of advice do you live by? “One can remain alive if…one is unafraid to change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways.” – Edith Wharton
 
Who or what makes your heart beat faster when you think about them/it? My children.

This interview was originally published in the May, 2022 issue of The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships’ monthly Distance Traveled newsletter. Sign up to receive the latest issue here. ∎