“This scholarship has proven to me that hard work does pay off, no matter where you came from. ”
Have you selected a course of study? Are there any professors whose classes have changed or challenged you?
I'm an economics and statistics double major. There have definitely been a bunch of UChicago professors who have challenged me, both personally and intellectually! The fall quarter of my second year, I took honors microeconomics with Victor Lima. Professor Lima is the head of the undergraduate economics department, and he definitely does not mess around. While his class was the hardest I had ever taken, I had the pleasure of learning about consumer theory from one of the best teachers in the field. We began with learning about the first principles of economics, namely the assumptions given in the neoclassical model. We then learned about utility maximization, duality, and price effects. Finally, we applied our theories to the labor market, the insurance market, and to intertemporal choice. I'm now able to quantify and predict optimal human behavior based on these models!
What activities are you involved with outside the classroom? Have you held any leadership roles in your extracurricular activities?
I've recently joined the board of one of the consulting clubs on campus, Prism Consulting Group, where I direct the pro-bono program. I've also led two projects from within the consulting club: optimizing the website for an environmental start-up and cutting transportation costs for an educational nonprofit. These projects have allowed me to develop my soft skills while leading a team and practice the technical data analysis skills that I have learned from my classes. Other than that, I am also involved in an East and Southeast Asian performance RSO and was the former treasurer of Coulter, the best house on campus!
What is your favorite UChicago memory or proudest achievement thus far?
My favorite UChicago memory is from the third week of my first year. Being from Southern California, I naively thought that my light jacket would be enough for the cold Chicago winters. Needless to say, I could barely even last through the first two weeks of autumn weather. A bunch of people from my house noticed that I was struggling with the weather, and we all organized an impromptu house trip to Wicker Park so that they could help me thrift out a real winter coat! That definitely helped me feel more at home at UChicago. Every time I put on my thrifted coat, I knew I had friends that were looking out for me, and that was quite literally a warming experience.
If you could speak directly to the person whose gift supported your scholarship, what would you say?
Thank you so much for all of your love and support! Both of my parents never had the opportunity to go to college - my father had to endure going through a labor camp during the Cambodian Genocide and my mother had to take care of her seven younger siblings. My family has been through a lot, and we're eternally grateful for the Odyssey Program and for my opportunity to be the first person in my family to go to college. The Odyssey Program has definitely changed the course of my family's life, and it has inspired me to work harder as well. This scholarship has proven to me that hard work does pay off, no matter where you came from.
