Heng “Nikita” Guo, 28, a graduate student at the MIT Sloan School of Management, was found deceased on Friday at her off-campus residence in Cambridge.
A native of Shenzhen, China, Guo had lived in New York before enrolling in Sloan’s MBA program in 2011. She was expected to graduate from Sloan next year.
The state Medical Examiner’s office has not yet given its determination of the cause of death.
“At this most difficult time, our hearts go out to Ms. Guo’s husband and her family,” MIT President L. Rafael Reif wrote in a letter to the MIT community. “Such a loss of a promising young person is intensely painful. I encourage you to reach out to those around you.”
The Institute’s full range of student support and mental health services is available to all members of the MIT community. Barbara Baker, the senior associate dean for students, says students can also turn to their housemasters and graduate resident tutors (GRTs) for support, as well as resident advisors in the Fraternities, Sororities, and Independent Living Groups (FSILGs).
All members of the MIT community who feel affected by this death are encouraged to contact Mental Health Services at 617-253-2916.
The family asks that its privacy be respected at this difficult time. Those who wish to send flowers may send them to Wing Fook Funeral Home, 13 Gerard St., Boston, MA 02119, where a private funeral service will be held on Saturday, Nov. 3.
我把人事构架分三层,一是人生导师,二是朋友,三是社交圈。作为想从商的年轻人三者缺一不可。出门在外,朋友是至关重要的。作为国外的小留学生,没有了父母亲友的蔽护,如果没有朋友在各方面支持就更是举步维艰了。另外,从商最重要是人,大学时代建立的牢固的友谊会让你拥有一批可以信赖的未来事业上的合作伙伴。我第一次实习的公司里,正副老总就是大学时代的好朋友。社交圈的重要性体现在信息量上。认识的人多信息量就大,而最正确的选择往往建立在庞大信息量的基础上的。作为留学生,融入美国社会是尤其困难的事情。可是何谓真正的美国社会呢?社会都是分层次的,在德克萨斯A&M这个四万多学生的大学里,学生也分精英层、学者圈、普通学生和低层次的喝酒逃学甚至吸毒辍学的学生。我们需要谨慎地选择自己所在的层次。许多小留学生在国外交友不慎误入歧途,或者因为交友的局限性限制了自己的视野和机会。刚刚进入新环境的小留学生切忌自闭,一定要广交朋友睁大眼睛看世界,多听取过来人的意见,但是要保持自己的思想独立性。我有许多朋友比我的年纪大,都是我各个层次上的人生导师,这些年里有许多决定都是听从了他们的意见,其中教育家高燕定先生为我指明了许多道路和在美国发展的理念。作为青年人的我们一定要认清楚天外有天人外有人的道理,尊师重教,谦虚谨慎。所幸A&M大学也是很注重这方面培养的,在大二的时候参加学校秋季领导才能交流会(Fall Leadership Conference),曾任中情局局长的校长就教诲我们拜求人生导师(mentor)的重要性。他半开玩笑说,他由一名小职员做到中情局局长,就是因为他最后一位导师是老布什。大三的时候,我有幸作为唯一的国际学生选入了18人的05届未来国际领袖学院(The Academy for Future International Leaders),有机会与多名国际性着名大公司的校友高层讨教一些人生理念,生意经和世界观,才逐渐对商界和美国精英层有了更深刻的认识。
拿我的经历为例子,除了学术外,为了有意识地了解美国社会和培养自己的性格,我在大一的时候参加了大学独特的军乐队(Aggie Band),接受了一年的Corps of Cadets ROTC美国军事化管理。结业的时候,除了拿到军校最高奖学金之外和获得唯一的乐队新生学习优异奖之外,我2分钟可以做88个俯卧撑,13分钟能跑2英里,还学会了许多实用的军事技能。记得父母常感叹上山下乡对他们能力和个性上的锻炼对他们现在事业上深远的影响,教育我年轻人该多吃点苦才能有所作为。我常跟朋友说,军校虽然很辛苦,可是要是到了A&M没有领教过军校我一定会很后悔。