I received my bachelor’s from Wellesley College (‘06), master’s from Boston University (‘08), master’s from Harvard University (‘08), and will be receiving my doctorate from Harvard; but it’s you, MIT, that has made the biggest impact on my life — academically, socially, and personally. And for that, I love you. You have succeeded in making a positive impact not just on your immediate family members, but you have touched the lives of people who are only a mere part of your extended network.
You made yourself an open playground. Literally, your buildings are always open. You can easily find an open classroom for students and friends to gather to brainstorm startup ideas. This is quite different from Harvard where even if you are a student, you are often met with locked doors. You allowed me to conduct my senior thesis research through UROPs (the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program) at what is now the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and take courses at MIT without any hassle. By being a cross-registered student of even just one course, you gave me access to everything at MIT. I could ride on the SafeRide, print for free, and access all your buildings and libraries.
By you making it possible for me to be an efficient learner (not having to worry about gaining access to buildings and classrooms, paying for printing, getting around), you made me a more successful person academically. I was able to spend my time thinking about more meaningful things than logistical hurdles to overcome. At Boston University, only one computer lab allowed free printing, and you would have to stand in line to pick up your printouts. At Harvard, I couldn’t ride the shuttle because only select schools within Harvard could use them. Yes, I don’t get it either. And that’s why I love you. You get us. You get your students. You get people.
Even now, being at Harvard, I am still benefiting from MIT. Your professors open their arms to all students regardless of whether they are getting a degree from MIT. My doctoral research at Harvard entailed interviewing scientists at the forefront of 21st century science, and your most notable professors were there for me. Robert Langer replies to emails on his Blackberry with an average response time of one minute. And yes, I mean Bob Langer, the PI of the largest biomedical engineering lab in the world and winner of the Nobel Prize-equivalent for engineers (Charles Stark Draper Prize). Philip Sharp agreed to a sit-down conversation without any hesitation, a Nobel Prize winner. I am always so amazed at how the people at MIT are so humble given their brilliance, a rare trait among the elite schools; I know this from being at a school where people wear double pop collars and white pants with pearls. I even have MIT professors sitting on my Harvard dissertation committee. None of them have any obligation to me as I am not an official student at MIT, but they do it because they care about their contributions beyond the walls of the institution. This is the energy you foster at MIT. Thank you.
Besides enriching my academic and research life, you enriched my social life during college. By allowing Wellesley shuttles to drop off students at various MIT locations, you’ve enriched the love lives of many Wellesley and MIT students. From MIT, I’ve dated the right and wrong guys, and ended up with my current husband (MIT ‘06; the right guy). Trust me, there are a lot of happily married Wellesley-MIT husbands and wives, thanks to you. I got to experience the fraternity life, being a “rush” girl, throwing rush week events, and taking childish jabs at other fraternities. I even lived at an MIT fraternity over a summer, as they become co-ed over the summer, and lived unofficially as a resident girlfriend during other times. You gave me the best times of my life at MIT. I got to party with people that were uncannily witty, jovially sarcastic, and all the while had substance and big goals for their lives. It was through seeing your students working together from two o’clock a.m. to sunrise on problem sets that were almost always impossible to solve that I learned the bigger purpose in life. It’s not all about getting A’s, which is surprisingly a more random process than you might want to believe, but being able to unselfishly collaborate, share information, and come out of the experience with a memorable story to tell and a band of friends that will be secretly thinking about all the people you’ve dated while you’re saying your wedding vows.
I love you MIT for making your constituents’ lives easier and more efficient, which consequently enable us to lead a more meaningful life. I love you for hosting numerous contests to support your students in becoming innovators and entrepreneurs; this is what makes your students so attractive and why I fell in love with one of them. I love you for being an open university, literally and figuratively, providing free access to knowledge like OpenCourseWare and now edX. I love you for being out-of-the-box fun by turning a blind eye to the ingenious hacks by MIT students. Yes, I was there when a group of MIT students moved the 1.7 ton Fleming Cannon from Caltech across the country to MIT and adorned it with a MIT Brass Rat ring over the cannon as if a finger; it was only after MIT notified Caltech did they realize the cannon was missing and it took them weeks to figure out how to move it back. I love you, MIT, for valuing creativity over titles or degrees. For example, hiring Joi Ito to be the director of Media Lab, who has never graduated from college, but is a recognized cyber-elite. Now, that’s bold!
These are but a sampling of the myriad of reasons for my deep-seated love for you. If you only remember one thing, just know that you have touched more lives than you recognize. I love you with all my heart.
Debbie Liu is a graduate student at Harvard University.
Comments#2: I once heard ray charles say the following "Your lovin gives me such a
thrill, but your lovin wont pay my bills. I want money."
She has an MIT husband! She made a guy happy!
Isn't that enough?
Sorry, dad, I was an English major (so Debbie, I must point out: it's Nobel, not Noble).
Also, I learned to swim at the MIT pool. Good times.
Why bother?
We enjoy sharing. This is the MIT way.
I spent every winter of my college years crashing with a Bangladeshi friend attending MIT. A number of other friends in same situation from all over the country also joined. I am sure us staying there broke some house rule or other, but people (including house masters) turned a blind eye. Those were very memorable times for all of us - New house and Next house were homes.
Years later, I returned to MIT as a grad student, so I now have formal claims to a connection. That almost doesn't matter though - for all of us who spent those winters at MIT, it was a warm home away from home, away from cold winters, and the culture shock of an unfamiliar country. Those memories are a connection that will last a lifetime.
Not everyone can get into MIT ;)
I was MIT '01, and as a 1st semester freshman, i'd ventured over to Harvard's grand library one day, hoping to check out the resources it had to offer. NOPE not allowed in if you're not a Harvard student. MIT ID will not do.
In contrast, you see Harvard Wellesley students alike populating all of the many MIT libraries.
In a relatively small and petty issue, it's a reflection of a bigger theme and frame of mind. Openmindedness, collaboration, and growth (MIT) vs exclusivity, closed society, and ultimately inevitable stagnation (Harvard).
Man this brings back memories... so glad you had fun. I dated a Wellesley girl for a year, it didn't work out but I loved the experience of being there. Thanks for the note, cheers!
PS you did you walk him around the lake?
Also the greatest of all things at MIT is the freedom it offers you. This was palpable even as an outsider. So much so, that I view MIT as a bastion of free thought, not only in the US but worldwide.
PS It's "Nobel".
You're thankful that you printed your work for fee. Didn't MIT students' tuition dollars effectively pay for your printing? When you were sitting in the library for free, did you take the seat of an MIT student paying tuition for the upkeep of that building and for the staff's wages? When you applied for and were offered a UROP opportunity, did you not take the place of an MIT student - - who perhaps accepted their offer to the University largely because of these UROP opportunities?
No where in this letter do you say how you gave back to MIT. Cynical or not, it seems that MIT, while sometimes appreciated, is all too often "used."
MIT is a special place, and very different form other schools. It's great to see that people appreciate this. But what does MIT gain from this? MIT does not charge cross-registered Wellesley students, nor do Wellesley students have to be accepted to MIT to enroll in classes. MIT students never use Wellesley facilities and they very, very, rarely attend Wellesley classes, especially given Harvard's humanities program much closer by.
Sadly, this letter make it further evident that MIT's relationship with some other schools is nothing close to symbiotic.
MTI and Havarti are no better than processed American cheese.
MIT is giving away little to gain a lot. For the price of a few prints and few ounces of gas, the institute gains the contribution of a bright mind who is not from our little bubble. It's called diversity. A group of people with perfect SAT math scores can only think so much outside the box. I personally like having Wellesley students in my classes because MIT students usually aren't passionate about "softer" topics and just don't like to voice opinions in general. I enjoy having a chat with "outsiders" (Wellesley, exchange, high school, or Sloan students) in the Athena clusters when I occasionally bump into them.
I have a job on the side to pay my own tuition, and I don't mind "sharing" what I paid for with non-MITers. The few extra pages printed for free is nothing compared to so many things the institute and current students waste money on. It's a very small price to pay for gaining diversity of thought and building a stronger brand. My buddies and I sleep through half our classes anyway (if we even bother to go) -- which is a bigger waste.
She made me realize that, at MIT, we share because we can. We share because we care. We're thought leaders of the world and can generate more good ideas that we know what to do with. Innovation is not always a zero-sum (I win, you lose) game.
we're not paying 200k to get access to printers and seats in a lecture hall. it's for the freakin M.I.T. brand! this letter just made my brand stronger. thank you
It's not as though the Institute isn't committed to intellectual openness, but in practice the rigorous work requirements leave many students little time or energy for exploration outside their majors, let alone for socialization. This can result in a narrowly focused environment, unlike the broader type of learning one would expect from universities of a similar caliber.
The multiplicity of meanings given to IHTFP more accurately reflects the love, hate, and love-hate relationships students have with this school. I have no doubt that MIT is deserving of this particular tribute, but a broader description of the Institute would give a significantly more balanced perspective.
Sincerely, The Mother of Invention
Though from Boston, I did not apply to Harvard [back in the '50's], but to a self congratulatory and more northern Ivy school. My only Harvard link came later in its MBA program.
Though from Boston, I did not apply to Harvard [back in the '50's], but to a self congratulatory and more northern Ivy school. My only Harvard link came later in its MBA program.
I applied to MIT, but not Harvard, back in the 60's because Cliffies were treated as second-class citizens. (They didn't have full library privileges!) What a great experience I had, drinking from the fire hose. Thank you, Debbie, for producing such a lucid and touching testimonial.
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