During his senior year of high school, Daniel Li did not think attending the University of Oklahoma was even an option.
A non-native English speaker, Daniel didn’t have a top GPA in his class or competitive ACT scores. After a period of consideration, he decided to apply — and to his surprise, he was accepted.
His next four years at OU turned into a long period of self-reflection, trying new things, relationship building and achievement.
After completing the requisite hours in University College, where all direct-from-high-school students begin their OU journey, Daniel decided to pursue a degree in Philosophy housed in the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences.
From the start, he had a vision of the person he wanted to be. His dream, since immigrating from China at the age of 12, had been to be become the “cool, popular college kid.”
“I have held so many identities as of 15 years old and there’s been so many conflicts of like ‘I don’t know who I am,’” Li said.
“In a sense, my version of the American dream as a teen was, ‘How can I be as popular as possible?’ So, assimilation played a huge part in my freshman year — wanting to be cool and wanting to be accepted. I rushed, I did all that stuff and, in a sense, I achieved everything that I wanted as a child and as a teen.”
In the second semester of his freshman year, he took a course called “Intro to Asian Philosophy” that helped him realize his true self by reflecting on his past.
“I grew up with my grandparents. They never had any goals that that they hoped I would accomplish; it was just ‘We want you to be a good person.’ And within Asian tradition, filial piety, benevolence and are all these traditional Asian virtues, it’s all about being a good person and that’s what they taught me growing up,” Daniel said.
“Deep down I always knew who I was. It's those principles that I follow that my grandparents taught me right, ‘How do I be a good person?’ Those principles have always been me deeply down.”
“So, I remember learning about these things, and I was like, ‘Oh shoot. My grandparents taught me about this.’ I’ve grown up thinking about these things. And that's when I knew I don't really have to pretend to be some somebody anymore. I don't need to be accepted. Acceptance is no longer my goal.”
Following this epiphany, Daniel said he started focusing — in his studies and personally — on social justice issues he cared about. He found new friends and got involved in new organizations, two of which would prove to be pivotal: the Withrow Leadership Scholars in the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences and the Asian American Student Association.
Those close to him could see the shift in him.
“I remember meeting Daniel when he was first selected as a Withrow Leadership Scholar in the fall of 2020,” Rhonda Dean Kyncl, associate dean of students in the college of arts and sciences and faculty adviser for Withrow Leadership Scholars said. “We met on the Ellison Hall patio because we were still dealing with COVID-19 and so we sat outside and talked for a long while. At the time, Daniel held memberships in a lot of different campus organizations, and I think he was trying to find one that felt authentic, an organization where he could really fit.”
“From those early days of exploration, I've seen Daniel find his home on our campus,” she added. “In the Asian American Student Association and in Withrow, I've seen him really embrace the academic side of himself, the thoughtful and reflective side. And I'd say he's more ‘himself’ than ever. He's been willing to truly explore the different organizations at OU and find places where he can be authentic.”
After graduating, he looks back on his time at OU with fondness.
“I’ll tell you that I love OU,” Li said. “A lot of people ask me, ‘Do you regret of doing anything during your time here at OU or just in life?’ And my answer will always be ‘No.’ Because without any of my experiences, I would not be where I am. And I wouldn’t have come to this sense of self-actualization. I love myself; I love the person I am. I would not be who I am without any experiences, regardless of good or bad, that I've had on this campus. So, the main thing that I've had on this campus is everything. The knowledge I've gained in class, the relationships built with the people I now call friends, or not … everything.”
He is now preparing to attend a university that, Dean Kyncl said, he once thought was too elite: the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
“My parents didn't even think I was able to go to OU, so I've never had those (higher) expectations,” Li said. “Now it’s Daniel who is going to Harvard and less of Daniel, who worked so hard to get to Harvard. They're erasing the process of me getting there. They only see the result.”
Daniel is looking forward to the future and embracing the unknown regarding graduate school. Before leaving Norman, he shared some advice for students: stop focusing on that 4.0 GPA.
“Chase knowledge don’t chase a grade,” Li said. “Come to learn; don’t come here for a 4.0. Learn what you love to do and just be happy … that’s all that matters.”
