How curiosity meets resilience

When senior biology major Elijah Yang ’25 talks about his time at Lenoir-Rhyne University, he emphasizes one theme: growth — not just academic growth, but the kind that comes from meeting challenges head-on.

“In high school, I went into every test without studying and still came out with As,” he said with a laugh. “College was a huge reality check. My first two years, I tried to run that same system and it didn’t work. So, I learned to lock in and apply myself. Being here has given me time to mature and realize you have to take life seriously.”

Yang, who graduates in December 2025, arrived at LR on a generous scholarship and quickly discovered academic expectations would change the way he approached learning. Through Engaged Scholars and later the Fritz Honors College, he found both structure and challenge. “It’s not the honors college that makes the student,” he said. “It’s the student who makes the honors college.”

This growth mindset guided Yang through nearly two years of undergraduate research with biology professor Michael Stiff, Ph.D. He studied cotton stem cuttings and the hormone concentrations for optimal generation. Results didn’t come easily.

“That project didn’t get the results I wanted, but they were still results,” Yang said. “Most people hit a wall and turn around. But if you take a moment, evaluate the strengths of your work and take another stab at that wall, eventually you overcome it.”

Stiff was central to both the research and Yang’s personal development. “He helped me refine my ideas and helped generate them when I had none,” Yang said. “Beyond research, he was someone I could talk to when life felt overwhelming. We had our own little research crew — our cotton family.”

Outside the lab, Yang stayed busy. He completed an internship with Trail Life USA, the organization he grew up in after the Boy Scouts split. He worked at their Greenville headquarters, conducting interviews, creating and posting social media and providing program support.

On campus, he took leadership roles in multiple associations, including serving as president and a founding member of the Pacific Islander and Asian Student Involvement Association. “I’ve been doing what I can to leave a foundation,” he said. “Before you graduate, pass on a legacy.”

Yang found another part of his legacy in Theta Xi fraternity, where he has found community and belonging with a commitment to traditions and public service. He credits the brotherhood with helping him build confidence, develop leadership habits and feel grounded during challenging semesters. “Those guys were a big part of my growth,” he said. “They were a stepping stone for me.”

Music has been another constant for Yang. He plays clarinet in the wind ensemble and orchestra, and spent three years marching in the clarinet section before switching to sousaphone. He joined the A Cappella Choir this fall. 

“I was always a shut-in kid when it came to music,” he said. “But the more I did it, the more I loved it.” His favorite place on campus is the music building, where he first formed the close-knit friend group that he still has today. “Music people have the same vibe,” he said. “It’s easy to gravitate there.” 

In 2025, he also stepped onstage with the Lenoir-Rhyne Playmakers in “Almost, Maine” and “Cabaret.” 

“Acting feels like playing make-believe as a kid,” he said. “It’s senior year, so I’m trying everything I wanted to try.”

As he completes applications for graduate programs in biomedical studies with his long-term eye on medical school, Yang carries lessons shaped by family, faculty and LR: try boldly, adapt often and keep moving forward.
“Throw as many darts as you can,” he said. “You never know what will hit. And it never hurts to try.”