Anita is a senior majoring in chemistry and minoring in English. Born in the island nation of Taiwan, she braved the cold on the American East Coast for a year at the age of six before moving to San Diego, California. At Caltech, she is involved in the music program and the literary and visual arts magazines. She is also an upperclass counselor (UCC) in Ruddock House, one of the 8 dorms on campus, where she watches out for the mental health of her peers and every once in a while tries to stir up trouble and excitement for her hallmates. In her spare time, she tutors and TAs, writes poetry and prose, plays the violin, draws, paints, cooks, and climbs rocks. She is currently pursuing her senior thesis project under renowned professor of chemistry Harry B. Gray, and plans on attending graduate school next year.
Graduation year: 2017
Option: Chemistry
Minor: English
House Affiliation: Ruddock
Every year, the seniors take an organized school trip somewhere for a night after senior finals week, which in 3rd term is a week earlier than everyone else's finals. Last year they went to Catalina. This year we went to Vegas. I've probably been to Vegas at least 7 times…
The weather being so nice out lately, my roommate and I began to think of having a picnic one of these days. So we gathered some of our friends in the alley and planned a potluck for a Sunday lunch right before finals week, as an energy booster and a…
At around 4 in the afternoon we went to check in to our Airbnb, then went to Balboa Park, SoCal's analog of Golden Gate Park. It is similar yet completely different--much more cozy-feeling and warm than Golden Gate, in my opinion. Here's the Artists' Village: The lily pond at the…
The week after Ditch Day, a few of my close friends in my year and I took an overnight trip to my hometown, San Diego. We left at 10:30 in the morning and arrived in Old Town San Diego sometime into the noon hour. We had lunch at a classy…
The Sunday of Ditch Day weekend, my alumni friends and I decided to take a day trip to Joshua Tree National Park, located a few hours south in the Mojave Desert. We entered the park through the North Entrance and hit up 49 Palms Oasis, a hiking trail into the…
My cough and allergies were hitting hardcore on May 25th, the night before Ditch Day, but there was still a lot of work to be done and limited time in which to do it. Before dinner, Anjali, Bolton and I went shopping for last-minute supplies, such as sugar and butter…
Caltech alumni generally come back to help out on their friends' stacks for Ditch Day. We had invited 8 people for our stack, and they were all going to be actors in the Town Market section, as the merchants. I came up with the idea of using cardboard trifolds, like…
When I mentioned in my previous post that for the underclassmen stackees, Ditch Day began at 7:45 a.m. on May 26, 2017, I left out the other half of the story: that for the senior stackers, Ditch Day began a long time ago. Technically, my friend Anjali and I knew…
My friend Jagriti and I decided to make paneer tikka masala the other day. Paneer is an Indian cottage cheese-like type of protein. Jagriti and I have cooked together since freshman year, but we've never made Indian food up till now, in part because it can be a very involved…
As one of the UCCs (Upperclass Counselors) of my House at Caltech, I take my alley (hallway) off campus once in a while for edible excursions. On Saturday I decided to do a dim sum trip to Full House Seafood Restaurant in Arcadia, California. Our little group of 6 that…
The advantage of having friends with cars, who are foodies, is the near-unlimited opportunities that arise forpursuing delicious eats and drinks. In Southern California, this means good Asian places around the Monterey Park area in terms of food, and a plethora of boba tea shops in terms of drink. My…
There's been a video circulating around Facebook recently on making "aquarium cookies." My roommate Sandra and I decided to try making them for our alley (hallmates) during midterms weekend as a kind of pick-me-up. Components: Sugar cookie rings, jolly rancher "glass" centers, sprinkles, melted white chocolate for icing/glue in assembling…
Hi all, Sorry for my prolonged absence from the airwaves. I've been working a lot on my senior thesis this term, and as a matter of fact I'll talk about what it's like to do research during the year in this blog post. Some vocabulary terms: SURF - Summer Undergraduate…
Friday! It was starting to feel very familiar, this Thursday-Friday-Saturday pattern of grad school visits, so forgive me if I gloss over what happened at Northwestern more than I did at the University of Chicago. Of course, it is no less important... We attendedsome panels in the morning where we…
As a rebellious teenager, I skipped all high school dances. Some of my friends and I had been thinking of an anti-prom party senior year, but I think we stayed home to study for the APs instead. Yeah, I know. Super boring. Not that the sole middle school dance I…
For the last part of spring break, I headed off to Chicago again for my other grad school visit. I flew Southwest Airlines into Midway Airport, and so took the train for 2 hours from downtown Chicago into the suburbia of Evanston, IL. (The airport of O'Hare is closer to…
My parents bought a box of masala chai tea at the local Indian grocery store to try. This brand, Tea India, had more spices and less tea flavor than other chais I'd tried before. There was ginger, cinnamon, cardamom... We made a pot every night with hot milk and sugar,…
Unlike some of the other bloggers who are off gaining world experience traveling, I simply went home to Northern California for spring break. It was a calm Saturday morning at Burbank Bob Hope Airport as I waited for my flight to Oakland: Before boarding the plane, the guy standing in…
Made with <3 by Juni and Michael, Class of 2025
1200 East California Boulevard
Pasadena, California 91125
