Littleton native urges students to get involved on campus
Victor Hsu believes in fate.
“My parents met at CSU,” said Hsu a junior chemical engineer turned MCD biology major. “That is not so uncommon, except that they both immigrated to the United States and met in Colorado at CSU, of all places.”
Hsu, whose parents were born in East Asia, is half Chinese and half Taiwanese.
Although born and raised in Littleton, Colo., Hsu traveled the world as a child.
“I am really close to my family and traveled to Hong Kong, Hawaii, Taiwan and Europe, amongst other places, when I was young,” he said.
Hsu attended Dakota Ridge High School in Littleton, where he took Advanced Placement classes and loved his teachers. He said an AP biology class he took there was huge influence on his decision to change his major to MCD biology.
“High school truly prepared me for college,” he said.
Unlike his parents, who both graduated from CSU, Hsu applied to only one school- CU. As the only flagship university in the state, he said knew he wanted to attend CU.
Hsu, the Health and Safety Director of UCSU, got involved in the student government while serving on Engineering Council his sophomore year.
“I heard there was an open spot for a senator on the board so I applied and served on Legislative Council my entire sophomore year,” he said. “Legislative council made me very passionate about wanting to get involved with the CU campus.”
Hsu said participating in UCSU has really opened his eyes to issues on campus.
As Health and Safety Director, he serves on the Health Board at Wardenburg and was a huge part of moving the board from Wardenburg to the UMC. He organized a Suicide Awareness event through Counseling of Psychological Services (CAPS) earlier this semester and is the coordinator for the 9 Health Fair.
Hsu said UCSU has given him a better view about the lack of student involvement on campus.
“Being part of UCSU has made me realize that CU is isolated in how so many students aren’t aware about pertinent issues around campus,” Hsu said. “It’s like there needs to be a negative occurrence for students to react.”
Hsu said Max Karson’s editorial brought up a lot of diversity issues with UCSU.
“UCSU tried to focus the recent rallies not about the article itself, but instead on the bigger problem,” Hsu said. “His article emphasized how diversity issues are reoccurring on campus.”
Hsu said the best way to improve diversity issues on campus is to get involved in other student groups. He said he thinks student interaction is key to understanding and appreciating people different from ourselves.
“It’s good to feel uncomfortable in certain situations,” he said. “You feel that way because something is unknown, but then you appreciate it and it’s new and exciting.”
Hsu, who has one more year at CU, said he plans to attend the CU Health Sciences Center after he graduates. He was pre-accepted into the medical school his sophomore year.
“I want to go straight to medical school, because when I have too much time off, I don’t have the structure I need in my life,” he said. “I think medical school will keep me very busy.”
Hsu said he enjoys having lunch with friends and playing violin during his free time. He said he joined the Campus Orchestra his sophomore year to get in touch with his musical side.
Hsu said his best advice to CU students is to get involved in the campus because it enriches one’s entire college experience.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Heather Koski at heather.koski@colorado.edu
