Kevin Lu
Economics
Woodbridge, Conn.
What Cornell memory do you treasure the most?
Small memories.
I recall the last day of my junior spring, sitting on the slope with three of my senior RA friends, in commiseration and sadness on the excitement of their passing from this campus. The last time I saw them, I could see the trepidations of my future self in their eyes. Melancholy and nostalgia, relief and joy, all mixed into one on that day.I also look back very fondly upon a day in the summer of last year, in my time as a reunion clerk for the Class of 1965. As we dismounted from the bus, many of the alumni asked me the same question: “Is the bell still here?” And when the answer was yes, and we found the bell at Newman Overlook, a line soon formed. Everyone wanted to ring that bell.
One lady came up to me, with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face. I asked her if all was well, and her response to me was of such a kind that I would never forget.
She said something to this effect: “Each reunion I have come to ring this bell. And every five years, the list of my friends who can make it here grows shorter and shorter. Now there are very few of us left. So each time I wonder, perhaps this will be my last time.”
But then she added: “I smile still, because I know that if it is my last time, I will have never spent a day on campus which I could not look fondly back upon somehow.”I hope when I am 80, I can feel the same way.
What have you accomplished as a Cornell student that you are most proud of?
I have made my mark in small ways – overseeing the doubling of the budget of the student union, doing my best as a residential advisor, TA and tutor for economics and writing over the years, and working with amazing peers and professors in research for the Economics Education Lab, such as in creating the new editions of the IESA-Macro tests. I find pride in all these things collectively in the sense that, at least I sincerely hope, I have been able to make a small difference in the lives of fellow students, whether that was with last-minute prelim help that saved a grade, offering support and resources for a struggling resident or contributing in some small way to ameliorating pedagogy in economics in the future. Any honors, awards or other boons that might have occurred are ultimately merely accessory to this core difference.
How have your beliefs or perspectives changed since you first arrived at Cornell?
I came to Cornell naive: hopeful for the future, unaccustomed to failure, trusting of friends but rarely open to strangers and in many ways wholly unadapted to engaging with people outside of my milieu who possessed different backgrounds and experiences. I was inexperienced and a bit foolish, as I still perhaps am now, and a believer that if one just worked hard enough one could eventually get anything.I leave Cornell … perhaps still a bit naive. I think I am perhaps more cynical and realistic than I was as a freshman, but I sincerely hope (and think) that I am still hopeful for what the future can hold. I am definitely more accustomed to loss, and far less afraid of failure. I have learned to an even greater extent the value of friendship, but also the value of trusting and helping those who I do not know, to find friends in strange places. I feel far more confident in my ability to be open with others, and to find openness for the experiences of others. I also discovered just how much success in any capacity cannot be due to one’s own hard work or efforts alone; there is a limit to this. Which stone is the one responsible for holding up the bridge, after all? I learned that to seek help is invaluable, and that to give help when one can, essential.What did I discover about myself? I think, above all else, that I am a deeply flawed person, as perhaps many of us are as we grow, but that my flaws do not definitively serve to hold me back; that they are, if anything, goals to work on and to be aware of.
Who or what influenced your Cornell education the most?
My parents were absolutely an essential positive force in the course of my education. Without them, I would have oftentimes been lost in the abyss of self-doubt and anxiety. They rarely gave me undue pressure, but rather offered hope, steps for the future and a place to retreat even in dark hours. I feel immensely privileged in the sense that I always had a rock of love to fall back on, even if that rock sometimes shifted and turned in the sands. So thank you, Mama and Baba.But truly the list of people who had a positive impact on my life here at Cornell cannot be counted or completed. Here are just a few of many:
Professor McKee and Professor Orlov of the economics department. Without either of them, I would have never been involved in economics research, nor would I have truly developed the confidence to even consider pursuing economics as more than just a major. The patience they showed me even when I made sometimes immensely stupid mistakes, and the encouragement they gave at all times cannot be understated in value. Moreover, this duo is absolutely iconic in the econ department, and both Professor McKee and Orlov are some of the kindest, most personable professors I have ever met, filled with great book recs, good taste in music and shows and high fantasy knowledge.
Lauren Hamre, RHD, of the Low Rises, who in many ways was my manager, my role model of a good leader and even at times my therapist, all wrapped into one. She lead our team with incredible grace and an even hand, and I cannot thank her enough for the advice and support she has given me over the years, even in very difficult times. She really is the true soul of the Low Rises community.
Professor Kate Navickas of the English deparment and the Cornell Writing Centers. A fantastic teacher, and just a kind, loving person. Kate really gave encouragement and inspiration to me to pursue education beyond the undergraduate level, and I think she believed in me as a tutor and a writer way back in WRIT 1420 long before I even contemplated that I had any sort of ability in either of those things.
Every year, our faculty nominate graduating Arts & Sciences students to be featured as part of our Extraordinary Journeys series.Read more about the Class of 2025.
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