Club sport taekwondo alum Dr. Alicia Zhou (’06) talks about how important the MIT Sport Taekwondo Club was to her academic performance at MIT (5.0 GPA) and her development as a successful PhD scientist.
Alicia started taekwondo in a MIT Physical Education class as a freshman in 2003 and eventually made the US National Collegiate Team in 2010 and 2011. When asked “How do you manage work/life integration? Do you have tips for young scientists about this?”, she responded:
“MIT is highly competitive, and I saw many fellow freshmen fumble in that environment. I did well at MIT and was fortunate to graduate with a 5.0 GPA. When people ask me how I did this, I reply that I couldn’t have done it without joining the Taekwondo team at MIT. I started Taekwondo as a beginner during my freshman year at MIT. Over the course of four years, I got my black belt through the MIT Sport Taekwondo Club under the mentorship of Master Dan Chuang. I continued competing after I graduated and eventually became part of the U.S. Collegiate Taekwondo team for two years. My experience in Taekwondo is what grounded me in my academic life. I think that in order to navigate an academically competitive environment, it’s important to ground yourself in something that you’re passionate about. That something may be intellectual, such as reading books or playing chess, or something physical. Taekwondo anchored me, and I continue to practice to this day. So, the one piece of advice I would give to young scientists is to pick something that anchors you in your life and commit to it. It will help you excel in all the other aspects of your life.”
Click here to view the rest of her spotlight in the National Institutes of Health newsletter (summer 2018, volume 1, issue 2)