Dr. Chun

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Young H. Chun, Ph.D.


One of my favorite songs starts with, "where do I begin to tell the story of how great a life can be?" Born on the wrong side of the tracks in a less affluent country, I've grown up as an "ugly duckling" on several fronts. (I think that's why I started to collect miniature ducks while traveling abroad.)

Dr. Chun's familyI accepted that life is not fair, and left home at an early age to attend a military boarding high school on a full scholarship. Since then, I have walked on the long and winding road tirelessly. I eventually ended up here in a small town in Louisiana.

Against all odds, I achieved the American dream. I now started the second half of my life, and I can say, "La vita è bella (Life is beautiful)!" I have a successful career, a beautiful wife, and two wonderful children! What else do I want more in my life? (In my miniature duck collection, I recently added a few swans. )



A. My School

I am Professor of Decision Science and I also hold the Cherie H. Flores Endowed Chair of MBA Studies at Louisiana State University (LSU). Founded in 1860, LSU is the flagship institution of Louisiana. LSU's total enrollment is more than 30,000 students, including more than 1,700 international students and 5,000 graduate students.

LSU is located on more than 2,000 acres in the southern part of Baton Rouge, and is bordered on the west by the Mississippi River. Although LSU is a large campus, it is designed as a "walking campus," and most students find it easy to navigate by foot or by bike. The campus is noted for its architecture, which is based on the Renaissance domestic style of northern Italy. LSU's landscaping was called "a botanical joy" by Thomas Gaines, who listed LSU as one of the 20 most beautiful campuses in America in his book The Campus as a Work of Art. LSU’s extraordinary southern live oaks, magnolias, crepe myrtles, azaleas, and camellias are as much a part of the University tradition as academics and athletics.LSU campus

LSU has a proud tradition of college athletics and has fielded nationally competitive teams in most of its sports as a charter member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). LSU fans take great pride in their Fighting Tigers. In an informal poll by CBS-TV, LSU's Tiger Stadium, popularly known as "Death Valley," was voted by opposing teams as the nation's most difficult stadium in which to play because of fan enthusiasm. LSU teams draw some of the largest crowds in all of college athletics.



 
   

B. My Hometown

Baton Rouge, the capitol city of Louisiana, has a metropolitan population of more than 500,000. The city is at the center of south Louisiana's cultural attractions, with New Orleans 70 miles to the southeast, the antebellum country of the Feliciana parishes to the north, and the Acadian French Louisiana country of rivers, bayous, marshes, and lakes to the west. Baton Rouge is eclectic in nature with influences drawn from native American, Spanish, English, French, African, Cajun, and Creole cultures. This rich diversity is evident in our people, our architecture, our food, our music, and our celebrations.

Louisiana is famous for its food and its chefs, and the capitol city is no exception. Baton Rouge offers innumerable ways to excite your taste buds, with everything from old-fashioned southern cooking to spicy Cajun dishes. My adopted home state has a rich musical heritage as well. It is the birthplace of Jazz and is alive with the sounds of the blues, rhythm & blues, Cajun, zydeco, gospel, country, bluegrass, and rock.

Louisiana’s official nickname is the "sportsman's paradise" and the Baton Rouge area offers plenty to satisfy your thirst for recreation and adventure. There are dozens of rivers, bayous, marshes, and lakes that provide opportunities for fishing, hunting, canoeing, camping, nature hikes, and other recreation. Baton Rouge also has a number of biking and hiking trails, 36 recreation centers, 132 softball and baseball fields, two stadiums, six golf courses, and 123 parks.

With average yearly temperatures of 76 degrees and an average of 218 sunny days per year, Baton Rouge is the place to be to enjoy everything from crawfish boils to the ballet theater. We invite you to visit us, and as we like to say, "laissez le bon temps roulez!" (Let the good times roll!)


   
   

C. My Family

I have been happily married to Kay for a million years, and we have two wonderful children, Raymond and Angela. Raymond is attending Baton Rouge Magnet High School. Son's early photoHe is an excellent student - personal, well-mannered, and athletic. Raymond is a member of Louisiana Youth Orchestra and Baton Rouge Chamber Music Players, and has won numerous awards from piano and violin competitions, including the Outstanding Musician award in the Louisiana Music Teachers Association district rally. He also has finished second in a local chess tournament. When Raymond was attending Mayfair Elementary School, he received the most courteous student award.

His 8th grade research project won the first place at the regional fair and the third place at the Louisiana State Social Studies Fair. His science project finished first at the district fair and fourth in the Louisiana State Science and Engineering Fair. As one of the four members of the Louisiana Mathcounts team, he has earned a trip to Washington D. C. to compete in the annual Mathcounts National Competition. Raymond is collecting coins, stamps, and rocks. He also plays tennis, baseball, and soccer as a member of local youth league teams. Like his dad, he is a die-hard LSU baseball, basketball, and football fan.

Daughter's early photoAngela is attending the Gifted and Talented Program at Glasgow Middle School in Baton Rouge. Unlike any other typical sisters of her age, she is getting along with her brother very well. Angela is an avid reader (i.e., book-worm), plays piano and violin, loves puppies and kittens, and is good at fine art.

She has been chosen as the Outstanding Musician for Level Prep A in the Louisiana Music Teachers Association district rally. Angela finished second in the Louisiana Music Teachers Association state rally. Currently Angela is playing violin for Louisiana Junior Youth Orchestra. This year, her research project on the parking space and the size of automobiles won the second place at the regional Social Studies Fair and advanced to the State competition. She believes that her Mom is the best cook in the world -- and we all agree with her.

   
             
   

P.S.: I've not updated this part for 8 years. I must be very busy - or lazy. A brief summary on what happened to my family since then …

   
   

Son's recent photo Four years ago, Raymond graduated from Baton Rouge Magnet High School with the perfect 4.0 -- and a lot of honors such as the National Merit scholar, Beta scholar, Siemens Westinghouse scholar, and so on. My wife and I had teary eyes when he thanked us in his valedictorian speech. He left big shoes for Angela to fill. At first, Angela was not excited to attend the same high school as her brother's. it is not cool to hear, “Oh! You must be Raymond's little sister,” from the principal and teachers. But she managed to finish the high school with the same GPA, setting the record of 4.0 from K through 12.

After a campus visit to MIT and a few days of careful calculations four years ago, Raymond decided to attend Rice University in Houston on a full scholarship. Since then, he has been the happiest kid at Jones College (one of nine residential colleges at Rice.) Raymond obtained his B.S. degree in Bioengineering this May. He received an out-of-state tuition scholarship from University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), and will start four years of medical school in Galveston, Texas.

During the first semester of her senior year, Angela got accepted early to Yale University. She was later selected as one of the 14 Rice-Baylor medical scholars. After a week of sleepless nights, she finally decided to go to Rice University on a full scholarship - and a guaranteed acceptance to Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Daughter's recent photoOur kids are four years apart, but they got accepted into medical schools at the same time, making me and my wife this year's Luckiest Parents of the World.

After a trip to Italy and France this summer, Raymond is working part-time in Houston to save some money (He has his own IRA!). Angela is having fun in Ankara, Turkey this summer on the National Security Language Initiative scholarship sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. And my wife and I started to enjoy our second honeymoon in the empty nest - without grumpy and annoying kids!



   
   

D. Family Photos

Our son was born in Baton Rouge, but he spent his first three years in West Lafayette, Indiana.  Our daughter was born in a suburb of Boston. We came down to Louisiana two years later. Since then, we've lived in Baton Rouge happily ever after. (Look how fast our kids are growing up, while my wife and I look always young!)

   
 
Family photo #01 Family photo #02 Family photo #03 Family photo #04 Family photo #05 Family photo #06 Family photo #07 Family photo #08 Family photo #09 Family photo #10 Family photo #11 Family photo #12


   
      LSU

 
  © Young H. Chun

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