Fiona Wu ’22

Other clubs, sports, activities:
History Department Liaison, HST150 TA, GER110Y TA, Junior Class Historian, Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship

Describe your major—completely incorrectly:
“What’s your favorite battle?”

Describe one moment with a professor that particularly sticks with you:
At the risk of sounding cheesy, there is no one moment that comes to mind, but rather a series of mundane interactions over the last few years. I am very grateful that I met Professor Ernest Benz (my major advisor, Mellon Mays advisor, thesis advisor, and special studies advisor—who has suffered through years of my research presentations) and Professor Richard Lim in the History Department. During my time at Smith, they have given me endless support and feedback. I cherish every meal, every walk, every silly afternoon conversation, every book recommendation, or email chain that I have shared with those two. They are the smartest, kindest, and most interesting humans at Smith and I have gained a college education from them inside and outside of the classroom. (In comparison, they gained years’ worth of nothing.)

If another student was considering your major, what would you tell them?
During a conversation with my advisor about history, he joked, “If they’re dead, they’re ours.” With studying history, you can study everyone and everything and open yourself to learning about worlds that non-history majors will never know.

What do you think has been the most “Smithie” thing you’ve done in life so far?
One of the aforementioned professors did call me a “nerd.”