She eventually plans to attend law school and practicing civil rights or immigration law.
“I want to continue to look at systems and how they affect particular groups. Morally, there is an obligation to address issues for people who don’t have people speaking for them,” Lai says, adding that her Christian faith helps her maintain her idealistic intensity.
“Because I’m someone who is motivated by faith as a whole, it provides hope. The system is broken, but I believe there is a justice and there is a truth. Values should be made tangible in people’s lives,” she says.
Her acquaintances seem to agree that Lai will make her presence quite tangible to countless people in the future.
“She will be working with people no matter what,” Chiu says. “She does an amazing job at reaching out and forging deep relationships.”
Lai says that no matter what her future endeavors, “the most important thing to me is if what I’m doing is effective.”
Judging by her career at Harvard, it appears that should be the last thing Lai should worry about.
—Staff writer Margaretta E.Homsey can be reached at homsey@fas.harvard.edu.