“One day she stopped by my room, sat me down on my bed and said, ‘I think we should block together. I think we’re going to be lifelong friends.’ I was struck by her direct manner but never doubted her for a second,” Cailin E. Goldberg-Meehan ’05 writes in an e-mail.

Her forthright personality does not interfere with her judgment of propriety, according to her friends.

“A true diplomatist, I’ve seen her bite her tongue at dinner with Republican parents, but never in a way that makes one think she is compromising her views,” Goldberg-Meehan wrote.

Her friends emphasize her fun side as well, describing Menendez as a “participant-observer” who always keeps a keen grasp on circumstances.

“That’s the thing—Alicia manages to partake and enjoy; but when things are out of control, potentially dangerous or embarrassing, she’s the first one to react,” writes Manuela L. Zoninsein ’05 in an e-mail.

But, reflecting on her time at Harvard, Menendez recalls, “My experience here has been alternately horrible and wonderful. What is consistent is my phenomenal friends.”

Her friends, in turn, gush about Menendez.

“Alicia [Menendez] will do anything for her friends,” Goldberg-Meehan wrote.

PRIVATE AND PUBLIC

Menendez’s sense of balance carries over to her long-term pursuits.

Her father is Rep. Robert Menendez D-N.J., the first Hispanic person ever to head the Democratic caucus, and she says this has inspired her dedication to a life of service.

According to Menendez, her main personal challenge will be keeping a private life outside of her public life, something that she says she has practiced doing at Harvard.

“People here are used to being public successes, but one of the things is how to weigh your personal life against your public life,” says Menendez. “Those interpersonal relationships are more important than any public measure of success.”

Menendez plans to work on John Corzine’s gubernatorial campaign upon graduation, but she has no concrete plans after that.

“I’m going into public service with my eyes wide open,” says Menendez. “I know the enormous joy of feeling that your life has been dedicated to helping others, and also the enormous frustration of public life.”

—Staff writer Yingzhen Zhang can be reached at zhang9@fas.harvard.edu.