Jun Matsui is one accomplished person. At the age of eight, she had already been inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records. By the time she left for the College, she was a certified auto mechanic. An English and neuroscience double major, she served as her class president for two consecutive years, acted as co-chair of the Diversity Coalition, participated on the Presidential Search Committee (PSC), played on the Women's Ultimate Frisbee team, danced in DASAC, served as an RC and, in her spare time, created an abundance of origami artwork.

A record breaker

But to talk to the unassuming senior one might never know how busy she's been. Though she is not quick to brag about it, Matsui earned a spot in the Guinness Book for the greatest number of people skipping a jump rope at the same time. She and over 260 of her fellow campers at the Colorado Rope Skipping Camp jumped a huge rope 13 consecutive times, beating the previous world record.

A true academic

Setting a world record, however, may well be the least of Matsui's accomplishments.

For her English major, Matsui wrote a 112-page thesis consisting of four short stories and an essay about the writing process. "I'd always wanted to do some sort of major work my senior year," Matsui said.

The project was not an easy one, but the obstacles Matsui encountered did not deter her. Professor of English and Black Studies Andrea Rushing, who advised Matsui on her thesis, attributes her success in part to her perseverance and flexibility. Matsui had originally planned her thesis to be research-based but when that did not work out, she dropped all the work she had already begun and started on an entirely new angle. "She wanted the stories to be tactile," Rushing said. "She wanted the stories to tell what it feels like to run, what a viola feels like under the chin, what it feels like to swim."

Matsui's work in the sciences is no less impressive. "She gets excited about her work, and she goes to it with great efficiency and determination," said Professor of Biology David Ratner.

This drive, according to Professor of Biology Steve George, is part of what makes Matsui so successful in the sciences. "She's an excellent science student. I think it's her focus-being able to get things done," George said.

Matsui looks forward to the program at the National Institute of Health (NIH) Academy, which she feels will give a humanistic perspective into the sciences. The NIH Academy investigates health disparities-issues such as why the mortality rate for breast cancer is highest in African American women even though the incidence rate is highest in white women.

Focusing on people

Matsui's focus on people is evident in the activities she pursues and in the relationships she cultivates. The activity that she has found most rewarding at the College was serving on the PSC, because "every single member on that committee contributed. Everyone's input was valued; everyone was committed to our goal," she said.

Far from harried by her daunting workload and extracuricular obligations, Matsui always takes time out for her friends, according to Laurel Kilgour '03, a friend of Matsui's since their first year. "She takes friendship very seriously, and she's always there for people," Kilgour said. "You can go to talk to her about something, and even though she can be incredibly busy … she doesn't sound stressed or like she's overwhelmed. She has poise in that way."

Matsui also has a wonderful sense of humor, full of appreciation for life's idiosyncrasies. She maintains what Kilgour calls "a formidable wardrobe of pink" and she calls her car Rufus, for instance.

Rushing described Matsui as the quintessential liberal arts student. "I think in many, many ways she's a wonderful person and the epitome of what I would think of as a student at a liberal arts college," Rushing said. "I love her. I'm going to miss her a lot."