Being named one of FM’s Most Interesting Seniors can’t be too much of an honor for someone who already holds two Olympic medals.
Forward/defenseman and two-time Olympian Julie W. Chu ’06-’07 is co-captain of the Harvard women’s ice hockey team. In the middle of her final season, she ranks a close sixth on Harvard’s career scoring chart, and she has competed on the U.S. national ice hockey team since 2000, according to gocrimson.com.
Chu brought home a silver medal in the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, then a bronze from Turin in 2006. She is the first Chinese-American woman to represent America on the Olympic ice hockey team.
If “talented” is the first word that comes to mind when describing Chu, “humble” is definitely the next.
When asked how being named one of the 15 most interesting seniors at Harvard compares to two-time Olympic glory, Chu is modest.
“It’s a great honor,” says Chu. “There are so many talented people here at Harvard.”
“I think she’s selfless,” says Katey B. Stone, head coach of Harvard women’s ice hockey. “I can’t say enough...she’s as good as it gets.”
Stone is impressed by Chu off the ice as well—particularly when the team stops on the road for meals. “I’ve never seen anyone eat more in my life,” Stone says.
Her love for hockey is such that she now has a permanent reminder of Olympic glory—a tattoo on the top of her foot.
“I always wanted a tattoo,” Chu says. Her father, Wah Chu, made her a promise, she says: if she made the Olympic team in 2002, she could get one, and he would, too.
“He upholds his deals,” Chu explains. Her mom, brother, and sister all got inked with matching tattoos—colored Olympic rings surrounding the number 13, Chu’s jersey number.
It’s hard to play hockey for a living as a woman, so Chu says she thinks she’ll play in Canada’s semi-professional National Women’s Hockey League after college. Because there is no professional women’s ice hockey league, Chu says she’s remaining realistic.
“I have to find a way to make ends meet financially,” Chu says. “I’d love to teach and coach at a boarding school, or on the college level.”
In the meantime, her sights are set on the 2010 Winter Games, and the chance to come back from Vancouver with a gold medal to add to her silver and bronze.
