For Deb Yu ’98, Annual Giving is a way to support her orange and black ‘family’
Photo by Steve Freeman
When Deb Yu ’98 told her high school cross-country coach of her decision to attend Princeton, he gave her a congratulatory response that resonates louder with every passing year. “He said, ‘They will take care of you there,’ and that has rung true — during my four years at Princeton and beyond,” Yu said. “That was not something I had really thought about then. I wasn’t really thinking beyond my time as a student.”
This fall, as Yu begins her term as chair of the Annual Giving Committee, the gratitude for the care that she received and continues to enjoy as an alumna drives her commitment to provide for future Tigers. “Whether you paid full tuition or received financial aid, every single student’s education is supported by Annual Giving,” Yu said. “All of us benefitted from the alumni who came before us, so I feel strongly about the importance of giving back.”
The daughter of immigrants from Taiwan, Yu and her younger brother were expected to thrive academically. “I really attribute a lot of my loyalty to Annual Giving to my parents because of how they placed a lot of focus on education and supporting education,” she said. “They were even supporting AG when I was a student.”
A plastic surgeon in New Jersey, Yu points to the superb liberal arts education she received at Princeton, including classes in economics and politics, as something special. “I took Professor Robert George’s civil liberties class — POL 316 — and it challenged what I believed,” she said, explaining that the course examined Supreme Court cases. “I think the most interesting thing about the class was, no matter which side you were coming from, it provided an alternate, equally strong view.”
She became active in student life at Princeton, serving as treasurer for the Undergraduate Student Government. “I think it was a chance to really understand the inner workings of the University,” said Yu, who remembers helping make laundry machines coinless and securing student vouchers to purchase non-halogen lamps. “I got bitten by the bug of trying to make the University a better place for students, and it was a chance to meet people I otherwise never would have met.”
Though she now appreciates the role Annual Giving played in her Princeton undergraduate experience, it wasn’t until Senior Checkout that it crossed her radar. “AG had such a creative station at Checkout where seniors could pledge to support our class’s Annual Giving campaign for the first four years following our graduation, just to get their muscle memory to start thinking about giving,” said Yu, who made a $25 gift that first year and now has a perfect giving record.
Following her 10th Reunion, she volunteered to serve as an AG class agent and later became a member of the Annual Giving Committee in 2016. After becoming vice chair in 2020, she was part of the team led by chair Chris Olofson ’92 that convened AG volunteers from similar decades on Zoom to share best practices. “I found that those of us who are similarly aged had similar experiences and also similar challenges,” she said. “Those conversations provided a bigger-picture look at AG.”
As the new chair, Yu is eager to dive in. “I feel privileged to serve in this role and was truly honored to be asked, knowing the impact these unrestricted funds have in launching new initiatives and responding to unexpected challenges,” she said.
Annual Giving is critical to providing the University with the flexibility to ensure that a Princeton education remains second to none. AG helps recruit the finest professors and researchers, supports a vibrant residential college experience, supports new academic and service programs, like the Learning and Education through Service (LENS) initiative, and contributes to the University’s groundbreaking financial aid program.
Yu especially appreciates that last pillar. She remembers a high school classmate who was also admitted to Princeton but chose not to attend due to the higher cost. “I do wonder whether her life would be different had Princeton had no-loan financial aid at that time,” she said. “That policy really opened the doors to Princeton for a lot of students when it was instituted in 2001, and that has made for a much more diverse community. It’s been transformative.”
Volunteering for AG, in turn, has transformed Yu’s Princeton alumna experience. “It doesn't feel like work, because I love it,” she said. “I truly bleed orange and black. But more than that, it’s fun. No other university has the team of volunteers that we have, and AG is an incredible way for alumni to connect across all the classes. Just like my days in student government, I’ve made some lifelong friendships with folks that I never would have otherwise known had I not been involved.”
For Yu, Annual Giving fulfills what her cross-country coach predicted about Princeton decades ago — a tradition of care and trust that bonds the entire alumni community. “I think of Princeton as a family, and I feel it’s important to support that family,” she said. “Giving to AG is a vote of confidence in the University and a promise to each other.”
