Annie YOu

Hometown: Pflugerville, TX

Major: Management Information Systems (MIS) and Liberal Arts

Year: Junior

1. Why did you join ABSA?

When I was a young impressionable freshmen, I was on the lookout for various organizations to join. Some were social, some were professional, while others were philanthropic but ABSA was one of the few that embodied all three values. One of the key reasons why I decided to join and stay was really for the people and the community within the organization. From Freshmen and Speedway tabling to the general meetings and numerous other ABSA events, I always felt welcomed. There was no pressure or expectation to be anyone but yourself. Eventually, as I meet more and more people, I fell deeper in love with the work that we do, with the genuine connections that we make, and the support system that we create.

2. What is your favorite ABSA memory?

There is genuinely too many to just pick one. In the last two years, there have been so many chaotically fun moments shared within my family, my branch, and with my mentors. I think some of the most iconic ones to date would still be my midnight coffee runs with like half of the organization in my first year. I am not even exaggerating but pretty much every single week, either my big, my mentor, my branch, or 3-5 other ABSA members and I would crash Bennu Coffee Shop from the late hours of 10pm to the early hours of 5am. At a certain point, it became our routine. Once midterms were over, these coffee shop runs turned into Karaoke runs and late night board games and hot pots in Jester.

3. What’s your favorite thing about UT Austin?

As cheesy as the motto of “What starts here changes the world,”may be, it honestly does hold some truth. One of my favorite things about UT Austin is the community of people of both staff and student body. Everywhere you go on campus, you can always find something and someone to learn from. There are opportunities in every direction that you look in and oftentimes, all you have to do is ask. After being here for the past two years, I’ve really grown a strong sense of appreciation and love for the tight knit culture that is fostered here. Each and every single Longhorn are passionately pursuing their own aspirations in their unique ways and that passion is inspiring! I feel like there is this intrinsically contagious sense of pride in being a Longhorn and I love it!

4. If you could give one piece of advice to your freshman self, what would it be?

One of the advice that I always remind myself and others around me of is that everyone’s path to success is different. When I first came to college, I had this expectation that I had to do xyz in order to be successful. The xyz could be getting a 4.0, getting leadership positions, getting internships, etc,. I was constantly trying to seek our what others had done in their four years to make sure that I did my college years “right.” But something that I learned and something that I always want to remind myself of is that everyone’s idea of success is different. And everyone’s background and circumstances are also different. You need to do what is best for YOU. Define your own success and discover your own path to your vision of success <3 Also - please take care of yourself and eat lots of good food!

5. What is your dream job?

Honestly, I’m such an indecisive person, I’ll give you a different answer every other day. I would love to get paid to explore the world, try new things, and eat food <3 I would also love to get into education at one point in my life (imagine - my students would have to call me, Ms.You).

6. What’s your favorite TV Show/Movie/etc?

  • -TV Shows: Grey’s Anatomy, Nikita, Friends, any and all historical Chinese dramas or sappy K-Dramas

  • Animes: Hunter x Hunter, Jujutsu Kaisen, Detective Conan

  • Movies: Anything with Iron Man

7. What is one thing that you love about yourself?

I love my tenacity and my energy with the people around me. I’ve really grown to embrace my background and make the most out of each and every opportunity while also constantly seeking to understand and support those around me.

8. Name the top five things on your bucket list

  1. Travel with family and friends + eat lots of good food in either Asia or Europe

  2. Adopt a puppy

  3. Learn kickboxing or any form of martial arts

  4. Start an online platform doing something I love!

  5. Buy a house/car with my own money