“The intensive learning at UChicago has allowed me—either directly in a course or indirectly through further instilling a love of learning—the tools to decipher many daunting philosophical questions that have made my life more fulfilling.”
Have you selected a course of study? Are there any professors whose classes have changed or challenged you?
My economics classes have provided me with great challenge, while my liberal arts courses have changed my world view. I have gotten a great deal out of my classes with economics professors Lima, Yoshida, and Lahn. Professor Lima, the author of the notorious "Lima notes," a 800+ page approach to micro-economics that combines math and analysis like I have yet to see in any other textbook, teaches an especially difficult Microeconomics course. However, pushing through that class has greatly increased my interest in the field. On the other end, Professor Yoshida's Macroeconomics class challenged me to create a coherent synthesis and structure of the class to help me understand what we were learning in the larger context of things. I am glad to have been challenged in these courses. It was a humbling experience; I came in thinking I understood these subjects intuitively, and I was greatly proved wrong. But in the process I gained an appreciation for the field that I do not believe I would have attained without these rigorous courses.
What activities are you involved with outside the classroom? Have you held any leadership roles in your extracurricular activities?
The Odyssey Scholarship has allowed me a lot of freedom in my extracurricular opportunities by freeing me to focus my attention on my interests rather than on a work-study job. I am a member of Hillel, where I attend Shabbat dinners and engage with the Jewish community. I debate for the Chicago Debate Society, where I fly across the country to represent our top-ten team. And I am a member of the Trott Business Program, where I attend weekly lectures on different business skills.
What is your favorite UChicago memory or proudest achievement thus far?
What I am most proud about at my time at UChicago has been the fact that I have been here, at a school so alive in discourse, in the first place. The intensive learning at UChicago has allowed me—either directly in a course or indirectly through further instilling a love of learning—the tools to decipher many daunting philosophical questions that have made my life more fulfilling. Personal questions we all deal with, consciously or not—like what is my purpose, what does it mean to be human, how can I live a meaningful life, and why do we even want to live a meaningful life—can only be answered with the passion for learning that is embedded in nearly everything the University does.
If you could speak directly to the person whose gift supported your scholarship, what would you say?
I cannot thank you enough for the resources you have provided me in the past two years of my college experience. UChicago would be a much less magical place without it. In the US (and, of course, globally), those who start at the bottom of the income ladder disproportionately stay there. The financial support and social network that the Odyssey program provides helps solve the crux of the problem, stopping inequality rather than just treating it. The outcomes of Odyssey Scholars have and continue to testify to this. Personally, I am going to work at Blackrock, my top firm, because the Odyssey program gave me a stipend to take on unpaid internships my first and second year, which would otherwise have been unthinkable. I am a contributor to and leader in numerous organizations both affiliated to and outside the scope of UChicago because of the financial freedom the program has provided. And I have been able to network with dozens of other bright Odyssey Scholars from around the country who have made my experience at UChicago amazing.
There is no better cause than that of furthering the academic capabilities of the UChicago community. The Odyssey program does not just push the bar for recipients—since the recipients are contributing members of the College community, it also raises the bar for everyone. And I, along with my peers, plan to return the favor onto the next generation of scholars. Thank you so much for allowing me an unforgettable college experience.
