Passionate, persistent, organized, and bubbly are all words that can be used to describe Boston University’s Geneve Lau (COM ‘21). A first-generation college student from Boise, Idaho, Lau is the embodiment of what it means to be a successful, driven college student. She takes life by the reins and never gives up — and it shows.
Photo credit: Geneve Lau
Students and faculty alike have joked that Lau has become the “COM Poster Child” throughout the duration of her time at Boston University. While some might credit her success to her ever-expanding following on Instagram (@genevelau), Lau said she owes a large part of her success in her school to her job at the COM Undergraduate Affairs Office.
“I got hired for this job after I went into my first academic advising appointment with Jenn G — who is literally the greatest, I don’t know what I would do without her — with my color-coded four-year plan. The next day, I got an email from Annie asking if I wanted a job next semester in the office,” Lau said.
“Putting your all into everything you do is key to getting leadership positions,” Lau said about her success as a COM Ambassador, which helped her gain credit in the college and expand her social media following.
Photo credit: Geneve Lau
While Lau wasn’t my COM Ambassador, she was my Orientation Leader when I first arrived at BU. I can speak from experience when I say that she made what would have been a nerve-wracking experience one of happiness and excitement. This ability is one of the things Lau is most proud of from her college experience thus far: “I think that when you can make each person’s first year a little easier and see them grow and do their own things and really flourish, that’s the most rewarding feeling.”
Lau is also extremely proud of sticking her time at BU through, despite the shock of hard classes. “I’ve learned so much about what it means to say ‘no,’ and what it means to pull out of things — I’ve dropped TWO classes with a W since being in college — but that doesn’t say anything about who I am as a person,” Lau said.
What’s she most proud of? “Being a first-generation college student and being able to advocate for that demographic,” Lau said. Her parents came to the United States in 1997 and opened a restaurant in Idaho; Lau credits their support to her success, stating that her “biggest achievement would be making them proud.”
Photo Credit: Geneve Lau
Along with her tireless work towards success in school and in her specific college, Lau has also managed to maintain successful partnerships with brands while garnering the status of an “influencer” at BU. She’s worked with SiriusXM, a partnership she found through company Riddle and Bloom, and Primark, which she obtained through her work with Her Campus’s Influenceher Collective. Talk about a go-getter!
While Geneve has become quite a staple around campus and Boston, soon we’ll have to wave goodbye as she heads to Shanghai for her study abroad experience. Lau is SUPER excited about the food, which she says is relatively inexpensive in Shanghai. She’s also ready to head to a place that not many other people go to for their studies abroad.
Photo credit: Geneve Lau
How will her brand change while she’s abroad? “I think that I wouldn’t see myself trying to do any partnerships with brands that give me free merchandise, because obviously it’s harder to get packages delivered to another country,” Lau said. “I also think that I’m trying to shift more towards paid opportunities that require only posting certain stories at certain times, which might be easier to do since I’m abroad.”
Photo credit: Geneve Lau
From Idaho to Shanghai, Lau continues to be an inspiration for others, full of uplifting words for first-year students (and anyone, really) that needs a pick-me-up. Her best piece of advice about college?
“There’s no better time than now to be absolutely reckless and dumb and learn about who you truly are.”
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