“Don’t Limit Yourself to Who You Can Become:” GS Graduate Makes the Most of Every Opportunity

“When people are asked how they came to GS, they’ll usually start with whatever the elephant in the room is, the big thing that makes you feel nontraditional; I went to the military, I was a dancer,” said Davey Liu ‘24GS, himself a US Navy veteran. “But for me, I really think it started with my parents.”

Student activists, Liu’s parents were at the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest. In the aftermath of the violent government crackdown there, they fled China. This trajectory literally shaped Liu’s life, initiating a childhood filled with travel that ultimately brought him to the US. It has also significantly influenced Liu’s worldview. “I’ve always known about this part of my heritage from my parents, their vision of doing good things for the world and using their voice to express their beliefs and [fight] for a better society,” he shared. 

Liu has continued his family’s legacy of community advocacy, whether as a GS student leader or through his socially conscious medical research. Arguably, his family’s story also is mirrored in Liu’s history of embracing life’s unexpected turns–including those necessitated by circumstances–and maximizing their potential. Liu’s enterprising dedication to excellence earned him recognition as a US Navy technician, brought him to GS, and has resulted in tremendous academic success and campus impact as he journeys toward graduation from Columbia this spring.

“Being an immigrant who fled your own country means coming to the US with no financial stability. We were always paycheck to paycheck,” said Liu. His mom managed to establish some stability during his high school years by opening a studio gallery in Westchester, New York. However, following the passing of Liu’s stepfather, he left college after one year and joined the US Navy in pursuit of financial independence.

What began as a purely practical choice evolved into a hugely impactful six-year chapter. A self-described “computer geek,” Liu was assigned to the role of Navy technician, where he worked with state-of-the-art electronic equipment and successfully advanced in rank every single year of his service.

Amidst numerous deployments, often aimed at providing aid to areas grappling with natural disasters or humanitarian crises, Liu also rediscovered his interest in medicine–an inclination he had considered in college before leaving. Assisting Navy doctors, Liu was deeply moved by the immediate and profound impact medicine could have. He had found his passion. 

As he contemplated his transition out of the military and how to pursue a medical career, a Navy medical colleague recommended GS based on its reputation for supporting veteran education and offered to write him a recommendation letter. Liu was initially hesitant. “Growing up, Columbia was never a part of the schedule,” he said with a laugh. Nevertheless, he decided to go for it, even in the midst of a deployment. He recalled studying for the ACT in the dark room of his battleship workplace, surrounded by the blue glow of radar screens. He received his GS acceptance while in South America and ran to the medical bay to share the news with his recommender.

Despite the excitement of embarking on this new chapter, Liu’s transition from the Navy to GS was far from seamless. He arrived on campus in fall of 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. He described Columbia as a ghost town, with classes entirely remote and only a handful of GS students in University housing, himself included. Navigating a new academic landscape and acclimating to post-military life in a largely virtual community posed unique challenges, but Liu forged strong friendships and benefited from a veteran peer mentorship program. 

Inspired by the support he had received, Liu sought engagement opportunities. In his four years at GS, Liu served as a veteran peer mentor, a NSOP leader and spent two years as the Chair of Inclusion on the University Life Events Council. Additionally, he held positions as Vice President and now-President of GS Alliance, an organization dedicated to supporting nontraditional LGBTQIA+ students. 

Liu’s campus leadership has been marked not only by its consistency and broad impact but also by its thoughtfulness and adaptability. He revealed that resurrecting the campus community post-pandemic was often far from glamorous, as student leaders painstakingly worked to establish dependable programming, rekindle student connections, and initiate new traditions. The results, however, are undeniable: the first meeting of GS Alliance Liu went to had single-digit attendance. Now, the group holds weekly events with dozens of students, and this spring they co-hosted a large documentary screening with the American LGBTQ+ Museum on Columbia’s campus.

The same qualities which have made Liu such a strong student advocate have also propelled him forward in his academic pursuits. Although he was always sure of his pre-health goals, Liu approached his Core and elective classes with an open mind, leading him to an unexpected yet fulfilling major: medical humanities. “Columbia is an ocean of knowledge,” said Liu, “and if you just [focus on this] one very particular thing you wanted to do when you come to GS, you are missing out on what Columbia can actually offer you.” He added, “Columbia has so much more to offer than the ten percent you might be planning to use.” 

Liu seized and capitalized on another unexpected opportunity while enrolled in Dean Lisa Rosen-Metsch’s course “AIDS and US Society.” Recognizing Liu’s passion for health equity, Dean Rosen-Metsch invited him to participate in her research study on physician attitudes towards stigmatized chronic conditions, such as obesity, substance use, clinical depression, and HIV. Their collaborative work, which revealed alarmingly low rates of proactive HIV screenings in the US, was honored with the “impactful clinical project” award at the 2024 Miami Center for AIDS Research symposium and is being prepared for official publication.

Liu will further his research on HIV/AIDS healthcare at the University of Cambridge next year, pursuing a Masters in Population Health Science. “GS is a place for me that has not just transformed the way I see my own academic career, but also built confidence,” said Liu. “I think where I am now compared to four years ago; I know now that I can succeed.” He attributed much of his success to the wealth of faculty mentorship he received, citing individuals such as Dean Rosen-Metsch, Professor Lydia Liu of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Professor Talha Siddiqui of the Department of Chemistry, and Professor Harold Varmus of the Department of Biological Sciences. Liu also emphasized the invaluable support of the GS community itself: “I think that’s the magic of GS,” he shared. “You’re never the odd person out doing this.”

As Liu reflects on his four years at GS, he shares his most significant piece of advice for new and future GSers: embrace all the unexpected opportunities Columbia has to offer. Liu’s own journey is a testament to the power of open-mindedness, particularly when unforeseen chances are approached with curiosity, diligence, and a commitment to community. “We think we know ourselves more than we actually do,” said Liu, now living a future that was unimaginable to him even a few years ago. “Don’t limit yourself to who you can become.”