"It's pretty tragic," Cho says, referring tohow his father, although educated with a master'sdegree in economics in China, became a graphicsartist to support his family after emigrating.

"My father really wants me to go into medicine.He's given too much in absolute terms for me. Itseems like a pentultimate wish," Cho says. "It'dbe too cold not to honor that wish."

Other Asian-American children say the sufferingtheir parents endured in emigrating often causesthem to pressure their children to findfinancially secure jobs in medicine andengineering.

But Song says she has felt a need to go againstthe grain.

"I had this feeling that biochemistry was `tooAsian,'" Song says.

She remembers one particular night during herfirst year, before a major chemistry exam, as aturning point in her life.

"It was the night before Perspective went topress," Song recalls. "I ended up spending most ofthe night at Perspective discussing an articlethat I wrote and various ideas. I realized thatthis what I wanted to get out of Harvard. I wantedto question ideas. I didn't want to memorizeformulas."

Duty to Race

Song went on to concentrate in Social Studies,but is still considering the possibility ofmedical school. She says she feels a very realduty to her race to perhaps pursue somethingdifferent, specifically, graduate school in ethnicstudies, where she could perhaps effect change forAsian-Americans.

"I think whether or not you want thatresponsibility, you have it," Song says. "Nomatter where you go, you have an Asian face."

Song recalls growing up in mostly rural areaswhere there will very few Asians. Song says thateven at such a young age, she felt a need torepresent her race well.

"I felt a need to make a good impressionbecause for a lot of the people I met, I was thefirst Asian that they had ever encountered," Songsays.

Cho says he agrees with Song, but adds that allAsians who attain positions of influence, have acertain duty to aid their fellow Asians.

"I think Asian-Americans are linked by a commondiscrimination and have a duty wherever possibleto fight that," Cho says.

Vincent Pan '96, the new president of PhillipsBrooks House Association, says he understandsfirst hand the importance of being an Asian rolemodel because of his active role in PBH's MissionHill program, where Pan says he worked withpredominantly Puerto Rican and African-Americanchildren, many of whom had never seen an Asianbefore.