HumEc undergraduate has designs on his future

Sophomore Anthony Chang stands near a sculpture behind Martha Van Rensselaer Hall. Denise Weldon/University Photography

By John Wilson '98

It wasn't easy for Anthony Chang to decide what to do once he completed high school. The Poughkeepsie, N.Y., native took nearly all the advanced placement courses his school offered and even multivariable calculus at a community college. He investigated potential careers in medicine and government by volunteering in the physical therapy department at a veteran's hospital and participating in a local youth council.

But the question of which career path he would pursue remained unresolved. "It was all very meaningful, but it just didn't ignite any sparks," he said. Chang turned toward another subject area that captivates him -- architecture and design. After being accepted to Cornell's College of Human Ecology, visiting the campus and viewing the gallery and studios inside Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, he felt that he had at last discovered the right field.

Chang is now a sophomore majoring in design and environmental analysis, but he hasn't abandoned the wide range of interests and activities that he followed in his precollege days. "I'm very bad at saying no," he said. As a result of that failure to refuse, Chang plays the violin in the Cornell Symphony Orchestra, is an active participant in the parliamentary debate club, practices Tae-Kwon Do and has been a soccer referee and actor with the Asian American Playhouse. He is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and lives in the Language House. "All those who say there's nothing to do in Ithaca need to get out of their rooms," Chang said.

The shift from mathematics and science to studio courses was a bit uneven, Chang admits, but he believes he has adjusted. "You can be a jack-of-all-trades or a master at one or maybe two things. I'm hoping to be masterful at design, since my future meals will depend on that," he said.

Chang considered attending Dartmouth, Georgetown, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, and said that he was not aware of the design and environmental analysis major here until he visited here. "I came to Cornell Days pretty clueless," he said. Initially, he thought about transferring into the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, but he had no portfolio -- a collection of drawings and other work that the faculty evaluates before admission to the school is granted -- and wasn't certain that he wanted to spend the five years necessary for an architecture degree. He was impressed by the program and facilities of the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis and opted to stay in Human Ecology. "I realized that there is some serious work going on here and that it is relevant to someone interested in architecture," he said.

In addition to everything else he does, Chang is involved in a research project on the psychological effects of housing quality with Gary Evans, professor of design and environmental analysis. Evans announced that he was looking for research assistants in his course Introduction to Human-Environment Relations, which Chang took during his freshman year. The study consists of periodic visits to central New York families in which the researchers interview parents and children separately and take note of various physical characteristics of the home.

Chang said that Evans' class and the research have made him more aware of the human consequences of the creation of interior spaces and that they reflect the service aspect inherent in Human Ecology's goals. The spirit with which Chang entered Cornell appears to be suited to the realization of that mission:

"I was cocky enough to think I could do almost anything. I guess I still have that attitude when I approach different things. Being successful in something is just a matter of time and effort, and being in the right place at the right time. Sometimes you have to say to yourself, 'Maybe this is the right place, and I'm the right person.'"