Carol Liu, Alumnae Scholar

Carol Liu, from Chicago, Ill., Class of 2024, is the recipient of The Alumnae of Northwestern University’s Undergraduate Scholarship. This award, established in 1997, provides undergraduate scholarships with preference to a woman whose family member (her brother in this case) has attended Northwestern University. The three-year award, chosen by the Office of Financial Aid, honors a student in good academic standing. Carol is the 9th Alumnae Undergraduate Scholar. Carol’s major is applied mathematics and computer science in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. She was drawn to Northwestern because of its strong disciplines (Applied Mathematics and Computer Science), particularly in STEM, as well as research opportunities. With this scholarship, Carol notes that she can worry less about the financial burden of school and focus more on pursuing her BS in Applied Math and MS in Computer Science. “It encourages me to continue pursuing my passions and makes me more determined to achieve my goals and have a positive impact on the real world.”

Carol has held jobs as a peer mentor for two different computer science courses and is also currently doing research. As a peer mentor, she guides students through computer science courses and helps them, if they are confused, with projects or homework. As a researcher, she is helping improve a model that uses wastewater data to predict the prevalence of diseases like COVID-19 throughout Illinois. “I learned that research is interdisciplinary, so I have to communicate effectively with people who do not necessarily have the same technical background.” Carol Willis, president of The Alumnae of Northwestern University says, “We are so proud to honor Carol Liu with this award and to support an undergraduate researcher, enabling her to focus on her education, mixing both her interests, applied math and computer science.”

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