Justin Yu '08

At Drew University, a buttercup is more than just a yellow flower-it is also a reserved, quietly powerful Asian man who can't whistle.

Justin Yu got his nickname, Buttercup, in the fall of his freshman year-as is customary with the Drew rugby teams. "I remember getting the cup thrown at me when I walked into the room and it had 'Buttercup' written on it. I thought it was fitting," he says.

Most high school students choose colleges based on academic programs, campus size and other available resources. But for Justin, making sure the college of his choice had the Neuroscience major he needed to pursue his dream of being a doctor was only an issue of minor consideration. Justin, in fact, only applied to schools that had club rugby.

Always very athletic, Justin entered high school looking for a contact sport, so he joined the rugby team because his small Catholic high school did not have a lacrosse team.

"I started playing and stuck with it because, even more than football, it's the ultimate team game," Justin says. "Throughout my life, I wanted to be around guys that have your back." And he certainly found that here at Drew. Justin became captain of the Drew Rugby Football Club in his sophomore year. In spite of the violent and adrenaline-charged nature of the sport that sometimes makes it difficult for even seasoned referees to handle players, let alone such a young captain, Justin says he never had a problem earning the team's respect. "All four years, the team has been made up of my year or below me," he says.

But rugby was not the only draw for Justin. Yu is also a very active member of Drew's Honduras Project, a volunteer group on campus that sends a group of students to Honduras each year on various community service projects, and an organization that Justin dedicated himself to even before he was a freshman. "My overnight host was Adam Alonso [(CLA '06)]. His girlfriend was on the Honduras Project and it seemed really cool. It was not a big reason why I came, but as soon as I got here I knew I wanted to apply right away," he says.

Volunteering has always been very important to Justin. "My first year was life-changing. You realize how lucky you are to be born in America, just working with the boys who are so grateful to be living in the orphanage instead of living in the streets," he says.

When he's not helping to raise money for the group's yearly trip, Justin can most likely be found in the gym, helping to run Drew's intramural leagues or just working out in his spare time. He has been working as Co-Commissioner of Intramurals for almost three years, working especially closely with former Athletics Director Tremaine Young. "Justin is the kind of individual who can put a smile on everyone's face," Tremaine says. "I have so many memories of Justin. I guess one of my favorites was when he was at his med school interview with Temple University. I was driving the women's rugby team to pick up some supplies and I asked his girlfriend, [Tori Frederick ('08)], if she had spoken to Justin about his interview. She mentioned that she could not get in touch with him. So, we made a friendly wager-if I called from my phone he would for sure pick up. Let's just say I won the bet."

After dating him for a little over a year, the three words Tori uses to describe Justin are, "Extreme, confident and a butthead." "On our first date, we went horseback-riding near my house. He lied about his amount of experience, and said he had won the horse riding merit badge in high school. But when he got on the horse, he couldn't control it," Tori says. But it wasn't just Justin's horsemanship that won Tori over. "He's always up for doing anything fun. He is my best friend and we do everything together."

Headed for medical school at Temple University in the fall, Justin Yu has stayed a dedicated and active member of the Honduras Project and his rugby team for all of his four years at Drew. But what else would you expect from the man who has kept the same favorite band since middle school? As Justin admits, "Most people don't know this about me, but I love Everclear."