Meet Our Instructors: Lillian Liu

Lillian Liu

Major: History

Minor: Math

What is something you’ve learned from your students?

My childhood dream was to become a fashion designer. I loved drawing and would

not be against living in a pile of fancy clothes. When asked to write about their ideal

occupation, one of my students had the same career goal as I did as a child, but with a very

different reason: to give free clothes to the homeless. I was full of myself; she was full of

others. I thought about my hobby; she thought about what the world needs. At that moment,

my heart was warmed and broken at once.

Can you describe a favorite moment from teaching?

When sharing about my spring break with my students, I mentioned visiting an art

exhibition in DC that curated works from a famous graduate from my elementary school. I

said, “Despite graduating from the same place, she was praised and remembered, while I am

just a nobody taking life as it comes at me.” One of my students immediately responded,

“You’re not a nobody! You’re Ms. Lillian.” Her words sounded like one of those “validating

phrases” I kept in my teaching vocabulary. Some tenderness I tried to pass out has found its

way back, thereby making “Ms. Lillian” the best badge ever bestowed upon me.

What are some things you love?

The “acknowledgment” page of academic monologues. Shadows of trees on streets

and old houses. Black and white photographs from the 1940s. A room of one’s own. A good

night’s sleep. A call with Mom.

What is something you love doing even though you’re not very good at it?

I am not a quick thinker, but find great satisfaction in solving math problems. I achieve inner peace (ephemerally) through settling chaos, or more precisely, by canceling out “delta’s” to obtain a single epsilon in proofs. (But as you might have suspected already, this peacefulness was often shattered promptly by my TA’s comments in all caps.)