Humans of IMSA: Gina Liu ’14

“One night we just sat and knitted.” – Gina on how she and her quadmates have fun.

Why IMSA?

Gina: I think IMSA does a good job of prepping kids in the fields of math and science. It also helps develop the tools to apply those skills in other fields as well. We’re known for our STEM, but some of the best classes have been in English and history or even extracurriculars that have taught me about people. Even though I don’t plan on going into a STEM career, I have the critical thinking skills and the leadership skills to apply to any path in life.

What would you change about IMSA?

G: Definitely the competitive atmosphere. People tend to put too much pressure on themselves and others to get arbitrarily decided levels of success…. It undermines IMSA’s motto. People tend to focus on things that tend to measure but not be the end goals. Things like standardized test scores or grades are supposed to measure your progress or be markers of achievements, but people tend to see those as the end goals. The atmosphere can become toxic when people start sticking to that defined success.

Tell us about your most rewarding experience.

G: For me, probably starting SPARK! SPARK combined the two things I really care about – advocacy and disease. It felt good to make my own niche in the community – being able to bring something new to IMSA.

Most fun or interesting experience (and here Gina’s quadmates chimed in)?

G: Fun? At IMSA? (laughs) I’m sure I’ve had a lot of fun experiences, but I can’t think of them right now because of sleep deprivation. I guess living with my quad. I’ve had a lot of late nights with the quad. We have late nights thinking we’re going to work or doing stupid things like pretending to be unicorns. One night we just sat and knitted.

Rachel Thain: I made a basket!

Grace Ren: That was a really good achievement in your life, Gina.

Rachel: What do I do for fun? I like singing and stuff? I hang out with friends and watch Netflix.

Profile completed in collaboration with the Student Committee for IMSA Advancement (SCIA).