Four years ago, when I graduated Valedictorian at my high school, there were many universities I could have gone to for my post-secondary education. At that time, I was part of a church youth group full of overachieving Chinese-American students who constantly talked about which prestigious university they wanted to attend, such as the University of Illinois, Cornell, and Yale. Being a high school student and susceptible to peer pressure, I thought I should do the same. However, my father asked me if I had considered going to SUNY Brockport. He said that at those high-end prestigious research institutions, the focus is on research and not teaching. The faculty are more interested in research than teaching, and often consider teaching to be a necessary evil. Lower division courses are often taught by graduate and teaching assistants, and I would just be another number in those large classes.
Even if I was interested in getting involved in research, he said that I would be lucky if I got to see the lab, never mind getting the opportunity to work in one. My father said that faculty at those institutions are often too busy working with their doctoral and master’s students, trying to get research published, and have no time or desire to work with, or mentor, undergraduate students. He told me that since SUNY Brockport was a smaller public institution, the professors actually care about teaching and do teach the courses there. Also, since there are no doctoral programs, faculty welcome high-end students who are interested in research and have more time to work with them. And, if I went to Brockport, I would probably receive more opportunities, individualized attention, better instruction, and as good, if not a better education than that at high-end research institutions, all for a fraction of the cost.
Four years later, I can say with 100% certainty that choosing to go to Brockport was the best decision I‘ve ever made. To illustrate this, I know someone in my former youth group who attended Boston College. She paid $280,000 over four years to attend a prestigious university, to take the same courses I’ve taken here. Because undergraduates aren’t given very many opportunities to do research there, she wasn’t able to get involved in research. In comparison, here at SUNY Brockport. I paid 20 times less for my education, was able to get opportunities to be involved in research, got a refereed publication out in my second year, and had the opportunity to do research in Germany. SUNY Brockport is, without a doubt, one of the best kept secrets in higher education. However, I could not have done it by myself, or be where I am right now without a lot of help and support.
So, first, I would like to thank all the professors who had me in their courses and were willing to answer the endless number of questions I had for them. I was always challenged and learned a lot in every one of my classes. However, there are specific faculty members that I would like to individually recognize and acknowledge.
To Dr. Markus Hoffmann in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, thank you for being my research mentor for four years and providing the opportunity for me to visit Germany and do research there. I learned so much about research from you, and I will always appreciate the time that you took to mentor a mere undergraduate student such as myself. Thank you very much.
To Dr. Pierangela Veneziani, thank you for being the one in the Math Department to always push me to apply for various opportunities and preparing application materials for me. Without your support, I probably wouldn’t have applied myself as I have done so far.
To Dr. Adam Rich in the Biology Department, thank you for being the one other than my dad to get me interested in research while still in high school. You probably don’t remember, but I met you at a SURP picnic held in Lennon about six years ago. Thanks for being friendly to a high school student and not scaring me away as you could easily have done.
Finally, I would like to thank my family, my parents, and younger sister, for all the love, support, and encouragement they have given to me. And I would like to especially thank my father, Dr. Danny Too, who is a faculty in the Department of Kinesiology, Sports Studies, and Physical Education, who suggested that I come to SUNY Brockport.
Thank you.