Acorn

Issue date: 2/29/08 Section: TRUE DREW

Media Credit: Charlotte Hammond

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.

Continued...

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