PROFILES

What do your parents do?

My father is a small-businessman, though he had his background in clinical psychology, and my mother is a special-education teacher.

Are you receiving significant financial aid right now?

I’m fortunate that the U of C has a generous aid program in addition to the scholarships I have applied for on my own and loan programs.

So what was it that made you decide to come to the University?

It was really the interest in having a solid liberal education. I came believing I wanted to study economics and eventually moved into public policy, because it integrates economics and policy, which I’ve always been interested in. But the University of Chicago includes the humanities and the sciences and feels that all those are important and essential to shaping well-rounded individuals.

What has your College experience been like?

I’ve really enjoyed my time at the University. There are times when I’ve been frustrated with courses or frustrated with the Core, but, after getting through these very rigorous courses, I’ve come to appreciate what I learned very much. In the process of it, you’re given so much reading and so many things to comprehend that it’s overwhelming. But the breadth of the education is what I’ve really come to appreciate: that I am generally knowledgeable in a wide variety of subjects, and that they all complement each other in ways that I hadn’t thought about before.

What do you feel is the greatest thing you’ve gotten out of coming to Chicago?

For me, the best things about Chicago have been the way that interdisciplinary subjects are connected—that things I learn in my humanities courses or in my civilization course when I was in Barcelona this past winter apply directly to the work I’m doing in public health, and the way that everything is stressed on cross-disciplinary boundaries and bridges in a way. All of this is brought together, and it’s the focus of the education here. You learn to connect these things, as opposed to overspecializing.

Could you say something about the Odyssey gift, and what was your reaction when you first heard about it?

It was something that I was very excited about, because I knew I’d be eligible for the program. It will take care of my loans for my fourth year, which is when those Stafford loans are at their highest rates. It was very exciting for me to know that it would be that much easier for me to attend the University of Chicago.

I assume you’re probably working now in addition to the financial aid you’re receiving.

Yes, I’ve steadily been working about three jobs per quarter: at the Community Service Center, at the telefund, and I gave private swim lessons. Currently I’m working in development at Court Theatre and special-events planning, and as a research assistant for a professor in the public policy and environmental sciences departments, and I’m also a docent at the Smart Museum of Art.

Has it been difficult to find time to take advantage of things like career programs and student groups when you have to worry about working to make ends meet?

I haven’t been able to participate much in the way of extracurriculars. I’ve done some activism work with groups on campus, but never to the extent that I did in high school, because I’ve just been working so much. It’s something that provides me with valuable job experience and skills, and in some ways offers more than student activities can, but at the same time, I definitely miss out on a lot because I end up having to work so much to be able to pay for school.

Have you given thought to what you want to do after you graduate?

I really would like to get involved in public health financing work—working with large nonprofit foundations, like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation or the Kaiser Family Foundation, that fund interventions, especially in third-world and developing countries. This summer I received a human-rights grant from the University here, and I will be in Chengdu, China, working with an HIV prevention group that also does grassroots leadership training. I’ll be working with them to implement their new HIV prevention program. Post-graduation, I’d like to pursue a joint law and master's in public health degree and eventually become involved in public-health foundation work.

Do you think the fact that Odyssey will remove loans for so many people will have an effect on what they choose to do after they graduate?

I think it will open up a lot more careers in public service and in social-justice work after students graduate. Especially for students interested in low-paying jobs, they might not be able to take them even though the merits are so strong in other areas, because they have such a heavy loan burden from their undergraduate education.

What would you say directly to a donor to try to persuade them to support the Odyssey Scholarship Challenge?

I’m lucky in that I had a solid foundation coming into the University. I was prepared with financial planning skills from my family and from my high school, I knew how I could make ends meet going through college, working three jobs the entire time. But there are other students who would be a great asset to the University community who don’t necessarily come in with those skills because of the realities of their socioeconomic backgrounds. Odyssey will attract a more diverse pool to the University as well as help remove some of the entrenched problems caused by income disparities.