Whether it’s behind the podcast mic, or in Platt practicing for Penn Lions’ next performance, Emily Chu (C’ 25) is always finding ways to celebrate her identity and build meaningful relationships on campus. By immersing herself with Penn’s vibrant Asian community, Emily has discovered a sense of belonging and pride that she aims to hold with her forever. In her senior year, she hopes to seize every opportunity campus has to offer and try every new thing she lays her eyes on.
Name: Emily Chu
Hometown: East Brunswick, New Jersey
Major: Health and Societies
Minor: Chemistry
Activities: Penn Lions, Executive Producer of the FGLI Podcast, Undergraduate Research Assistant at Penn Medicine Department of Dermatology, PEER Mentoring Program, Asian Pacific American Leadership Initiative, Penn Assistive Devices and Prosthetic Technologies, Volunteer at Ronald McDonald House and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
You’re very involved with the Asian community here at Penn. What sparked that initial desire to be part of such a tight–knit community?
I think initially, it was because I grew up in a predominantly white high school and never really had the opportunity to explore my Asian identity. Being at Penn and just observing how diverse the campus was, as well as meeting people with such similar experiences, made me feel more encouraged to explore my Asian American identity. Before that point, I’m not sure if it was something I had ever thought much about.
Penn Lions was the first organization that I joined on campus, and it felt like such a close–knit community to me, almost like a family. I think because of Penn Lions, I felt the urge to branch out into more Asian American spaces on campus and see if there were opportunities outside of solely dance. As a result, earlier this year, I joined PEER and APALI which allowed me to dive deeper into my Asian American identity. Additionally, I felt like I got to meet a lot of people from unique Asian backgrounds, and I’m glad that I’m in a place where I can find that.
How do you think your involvement with the Asian community at Penn has impacted your identity as an Asian American?
First, I think that there is definitely a sense of pride I get from being a part of Penn Lions. I think that wasn’t something I ever really felt when I was in high school. It was always more like, “Oh, I’m Chinese. Can’t really change it.” However, after being a part of Penn Lions and learning more about the art of lion dancing, and being able to share Chinese culture with the Penn community and beyond, I realized that my Chinese identity is very valuable to me. I also realized that teaching people about what Chinese lion dancing is, is also really important to me.
After a lot of gigs and performances, people will come up and ask me about the dance style. I think that being able to teach and explain the art to others is something I really value. When I first joined the troupe, I had so many upperclassmen to teach me about it. Now as a senior, I feel like I’m able to give back and continue to spread the future of lion dancing here at Penn.
Could you tell me a bit more about your role in Penn Lions and how it has contributed to your Penn experience?
So Penn Lions is a traditional Chinese lion dancing group. There are two different types of lion dancing that we do, one of them is called Hok San, which is the less popular version. We’re trying to make it more known throughout the Greater Philadelphia community by performing on campus and elsewhere.
While I’m not on board, I am a senior on the team which is a role in and of itself. We compete at an East Coast intercollegiate lion dancing competition with a bunch of other universities, like Columbia, MIT, Cornell, and a few others. We won two years ago and were able to host the competition here on campus just last year. In terms of contributing to my Penn experience, I thought it was cool to connect with people from other schools that have passions similar to my own. It is really interesting to teach each other new moves or traditions that our team performs and learn from them as well.
Also, I think that growing up, I never had a set friend group, or felt like I was a part of a tight–knit community. But since Penn Lions has been my family at Penn, I think it made me feel a sense of safety on campus and also pushed me to venture out more since I knew I had such a stable foundation. Being able to perform at different gigs on campus, especially culture shows, was really nice too.
Word has it that you are a host of a podcast dedicated to highlighting the challenges that the FGLI community experiences. Could you tell me how that all started?
My friend Peter and I started the podcast to highlight the issues and stigma surrounding being a FGLI student, especially at Penn. Through it, we aim to provide advice and a network for FGLI students, since I feel like that is not something that is easily perceived by a lot of people on campus.
When the podcast started up last year, I was outreach manager. Basically, I had to find Penn alumni, students, and faculty to interview and be helpful on a podcast dedicated to incoming freshmen and high school students. This year, I moved to be co–executive producer where I’m able to be more involved and take on tasks like hosting, editing audio, which is really fun. I think that these are things I did not expect myself to do during my time at Penn, but being able to connect with the FGLI community and manage an entire podcast has been really fun.
After being involved so closely with the Penn community over the past four years, could you tell me more about your long–term goals as you begin to transition off of campus?
So I’m actually applying to medical school right now. I think from my freshman to junior year, I was always so focused on doing pre–med activities. However, I really wanted my last year to give me the opportunity to do as much as I possibly could. So that’s why I feel like I’m getting so involved with the Asian American community, and taking on a bigger role in the FGLI podcast since I think those have become really important to me.
In the future, like in medical school, I want to be able to continue to do similar things. Hopefully, I can continue working on the podcast virtually, since I think it ties into the main reason I want to go into medicine. For me, it’s really important that I am able to provide patient advocacy for underprivileged populations in a healthcare environment.
Being a student at Penn keeps us nothing short of busy, what do you do to take a break and get away from it all?
I like exploring Philly a lot. My friends and I are huge foodies, so we’re always on Beli trying to find new restaurants and figure out where to go. I was also training for a half marathon, the LOVE Run, so that’s definitely kept me busy.
I also love collecting Legos. I have a growing Lego collection that I started during the pandemic and it’s something that I have found I enjoy doing. Even now, during my birthday or Christmas, I’ll ask my friends to just buy me Legos.
What advice would you give to students who want to get more involved with specific communities at Penn, but don’t know where to start?
I think honestly, as a freshman, I would just apply to everything and see what happens. I feel like no matter what, freshman year is always very overwhelming. Especially when you’re transitioning to a new place, I feel like it’s really valuable to venture out and see what you’re interested in. Just submit that application, even if you’re only slightly intrigued by the activity. After that point, it’s pretty much just figuring out which spaces you want to insert yourself into.
That’s how it happened to me with Penn Lions. I saw a flyer, decided I’d go to tryouts, and before I knew it, I was involved in an activity I was totally not expecting myself to be a part of at Penn. I loved their sense of community, I loved their mission, and I ended up sticking with it. I don’t think freshmen should ever be afraid to try new things and end up not dabbling in something they may later wish they did. So basically, I think people should try everything at least once.
Lightning Round
Favorite food truck on campus? Tacos Don Memo
Most bingeable TV show? I’m currently watching Ugly Betty.
If you had to teach a course on campus today, what would it be called? How to Not Cry 24/7 1100
No skip album? Nicole by NIKI
There’s two kinds of people at Penn … People who don’t give a fuck, and people who give too many fucks.
And you are? I think I’ve started to stop giving a fuck.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Do you know that one senior who brings a smile to everyone’s face or always has the craaaaziest stories? It’s time to give them the recognition they deserve. Ego of the Week seeks to showcase seniors not for their grades or any other fake academic construct, but for who they are as a person and the joy they bring to the people around them! Nominate your favorite Penn seniors for Ego of the Week!
