All In a Day’s Work

“I’m profoundly boring,” insists Albert H. Cho, former chair of the BGLTSA and a Senior Class Marshall. Anyone who saw him strip in front of the Science Center to support the PSLM last February, however, would immediately disagree. Although he has strong personal beliefs, Albert doesn’t like telling people what to think. This Arizona native explains that braving the “freezing” temperatures to bring attention to the PSLM cause “allowed me to take the middle ground.” Such thoughtful behavior is characteristic of this highly accomplished senior.

This Phi Beta Kappa Social Studies concentrator spent last summer in Mauritius doing research for his thesis on the relationship between economic development and ethnic diversity in the region. He managed to save enough money on food and housing that he was also able to visit Tanzania, where he climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, and Madagascar, where he met the only Korean family on the whole island. Familiar with the Korean food his own family eats, Albert tasted a blend of Korean and Madagasci cuisine, in which unripe bananas replaced traditional potatoes. More recently, he flew to Qatar courtesy of Harvard grants and the International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development to follow trade negotiations for the organization. Interviewing delegates and writing for a daily newspaper, Albert took an active interest in the negotiations. He explains that he follows trade policy conferences “like some people follow Dave Matthews Band…I find them tremendously sexy.” He hopes to continue his interest in international policy; he plans to eventually enroll in a PhD or JD/PhD program in political economy and international law.

Albert has managed to make the most of his Adams House living quarters. Last year, in an effort to conserve space and “to see what I could live without,” he chose to get rid of the bed in his room and sleep on the floor on his FOP camping pad. In order to store his bulky bedding, he built a wood storage chest, courtesy of the skills he learned in a woodworking class at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. He praises the teaching skills of the instructors there, noting that “since there is a real possibility of getting your hands cleaved off by a machine, you just don’t pretend [to know what you’re doing].” He brags that, though he forgot to put the bed back in his room at the end of the year because he left school early to attend the Truman Scholars Leadership Week, he was not fined. Nor did he get in trouble for painting his room in sky blue, white and royal blue. “It was very Martha Stewart, though she would probably disagree.”

Despite his numerous accomplishments, Albert is extremely self-effacing. Does he have any real weaknesses? He notes that he always has to leave in the middle of lecture to hit the men’s room. His secret: He drinks exactly 26 glasses of water a day, at least 6 or 7 at every meal.