Minyu Zhou

敏玉出生于江苏无锡一个普通幸福的家庭。她是家里的长女，还有一对小两岁的双胞胎妹妹，作为姐姐，敏玉对妹妹照顾有加，这也使她从小便格外懂事。姐妹感情很好，敏玉总是希望退休后能够回到无锡，和妹妹一起养老。

Minyu was born in a happy family in Wuxi City, Jiang Su province of China. She is the eldest child of the family and has two younger twin sisters. She grew up in a big family where all the relatives live very close by to each other. She has made a plan to move back to China after retirement to live with her younger twin sisters.

敏玉在江苏大学攻读了本科，并在母亲的建议下选择英语作为专业。毕业后，她凭借顶尖的分数申请到美国进修的机会，于1998年进入University of Iowa攻读硕士学位。硕士毕业后，她来到美国闻名的文理学院Kenyon College工作。敏玉在那里度过了七年时间，与老师和学生结下了深厚的友谊，而当地居民世外桃源般的生活也带给她一段珍贵又与众不同的生活经历。出于对于学术的热爱，敏玉在Kenyon College 工作的同时还修完了经济学项目的所有必修课程。2008年她告别了在Kenyon College七年的工作和生活，来到Ohio State University攻读农业经济学并获得博士学位。随后，她继续留校进行了两年的博士后课题研究并在顶级经济学期刊发表论文。

After graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Jiang Su University in 1998, Minyu came to the United States to pursue her master’s degree at the University of Iowa. Upon her graduation in 2001, she took the offer from the Kenyon College in Ohio, one of the finest private liberal art colleges in the nation, to work as a Librarian and Technology Consultant. During those seven years of peaceful life at Gambier, Ohio, Minyu read a lot of books and made lots of friends with faculties and students there. While working at library, Minyu also completed all the prerequisite courses required to pursue a Ph. D degree in economics. In 2008, Minyu became a Ph. D student in the department of applied economics at Ohio State University. After obtaining her degree, Minyu stayed at the University for two more years continuing her post-doctoral research and published academic paper in top journals in economics.

2015年，敏玉决定离开学术界的环境，进入工业界尝试不一样的生活。她来到总部位于芝加哥的金融公司，从事银行风险管理的工作。她聪慧敏锐，认真敬业，出色的工作能力使她在工作中取得了傲人成绩。而她直率的性格和真诚的为人，更使她在同事之间备受信任，并结交了许多志同道合的朋友。

In 2015, Minyu decided to leave the academic world and moved to Chicago to work for Discover Financial Services. At Discover, she successfully helped the company to build in-house Fair Lending Statistical Testing capability. In 2017, she was awarded the President Award, the highest award for Discover employees, for her excellent technical skills, inquisitive mind and strong work ethics. In the same year, she moved to a new team to help the company build the CECL process. To her colleagues, Minyu is warm, helpful, honest and low-key person. Her genuine personality made her well-liked among her friends at work.

2018年末，敏玉不幸患癌。但她从未抱怨，甚至不曾带给身边人一点悲伤的情绪。她积极乐观的进行每一次治疗，对自己的病情轻描淡写，甚至去宽慰为她惦念的朋友和家人。经过一年半与癌症的顽强斗争，敏玉最终于2020年4月永远离开了我们。

At the end of 2018, Minyu was diagnosed with colon cancer. After she got the news, she did not question “why it is me”. Instead, she tried to stay as usual as she can and took her chemo treatment as one more thing to deal with just as any other items on her To Do List. After more than a year of fight with cancer, Minyu passed away in April 2020 at Glenbrook Hospital peacefully. As her family, friends and colleagues, we feel a strong loss with her passing away. But we will always remember the legacies she left:

作为敏玉的同事、朋友和亲人，她的离开使我们悲痛无比。她的音容笑貌，她的善良美好， 都将永远刻在我们心里。

   - 她积极乐观，热爱生活。排球一直是她热爱的运动， 大学期间她是排球队长，工作之后也常和朋友组织排球活动。在公司的排球比赛中，敏玉常被推选为队长，带领队伍夺得冠军。周末和华人教会朋友一起打排球是她最开心最放松的时光。

   - Minyu is always optimistic and positive with high energy. Volleyball has always been her favorite sport. She was the volleyball team leader when she was in college and regained her enthusiasm towards volleyball after joining Discover by organizing colleagues to compete in the company’s volleyball league. She led her team to win the championship. Over the weekend, her biggest hobby is still to play volleyball with friends at Chinese Christian Community in Deerfield.

   - 她天资聪颖，勤奋好学。她爱好阅读，并读过许多英文原版书籍。她喜欢电影和音乐，常常能感同身受，并与朋友分享。她还喜欢外国语言，并自学了法语和德语。

   - Minyu loves reading books, especially the original English literatures and watching movies. She has a high sense of empathy towards other people and always shares her friends’ pain and joy.

   - 她性格爽朗，坚强独立。 她从不愿麻烦他人，却处处为人着想。直到最后病重的阶段，她仍然尽量避免麻烦别人，却总是忍着病痛跟大家分享她的乐观。

   - Minyu is a simple, honest and straight-forward person. She is strong and independent. She seldom talks about herself, but has always been a very good listener for her friends and family.  She decided to keep her cancer secret to most of her friends so that they can still send each other messages just like nothing has happened to her even towards the end of her life. It is sad that we are not able to say proper goodbye to her, but that’s probably how she wants to be remembered.

   - 她内心柔软，善意温暖。她喜欢小动物，特别是小狗。她在Columbus的七年住在房东家里，每天都主动帮着房东遛狗。她对可爱的小动物爱不释手，永远保持着一份纯真和童心。

   - Minyu loves dogs. She has volunteered to be the dog walker for her landlord for 7 years when she was studying at the Ohio State University. 

   - 她真诚包容，善良无私。 她总是希望为他人化解烦恼，带来快乐。哪怕在生命的最后，身体极为虚弱的情况下，她仍希望能够献出自己的血液样本，为癌症研究贡献自己仅有的力量。

   - Minyu is a very considerate and thoughtful person. At the terminal stage of her life when she was very weak, she insisted in donating her blood to help the cancer research.

也许生命无法延续，更不能永恒，但敏玉的善良美好，如春日暖阳，已照进了我们的生活，并温暖了这个世界。希望我们的爱和祝福，也能够温暖在另一个世界的她。希望她在另一个世界里，不再经受病痛的折磨，只拥有单纯的快乐与幸福。

Minyu came to our lives and leave her footprints in our hearts and then we will never ever the same again. She has brought us so much joy, warmth and different perspective towards life.

Minyu, you are a beautiful person with a beautiful heart and you will be missed!!!

 

来自朋友/From friends:

"When I told Michele about the news, the first thing she said was: “Minyu is such a beautiful person”. I know exactly what she means. Yes, Minyu is a beautiful person from inside to outside. She is strong and independent, she holds her own principles, but never judges others, and she is always optimist and inquisitive. When she was diagnosed with the cancer, she never questioned “why it is me”. Instead, she just treated it as one more item that she needs to deal with on the To Do List. For the years when we were close friends, she seldom talked about her past or her future because she wanted to live at every moment she has and has always been a good listener for me. Minyu is one of those people who came into my life and leave footprints in my heart and then I am never, ever the same again."  - Ning Ding

"就像天边的一片云彩，你悄悄地走进我们的世界，又悄悄地离开。

你刚加入公司后成为我在3c 的邻座。不喜于颜笑的你，常常给人不苟言笑高冷神秘的印象。但却掩盖不了你待人真诚，善解人意的善良之心。新同事初来乍到需要人帮忙搬家，你总是热情相助，尽显大姐风范。 那年我在健身房不慎将脚扭伤，邻座的你总是温柔地询问是否需要帮助，主动帮忙修改写的意外受伤报告。工作上你认真严谨，虚心好学。你英文功底好，在写作上我常常向你请教遣词造句。对于你的中肯见解和批注我很是欣赏，你却总是谦虚地笑说你也是通过这些来多了解业务知识。你时常分享自己看到的有意思的中译英。你送给的那句“strike while the iron is hot” 的小贴士一直贴在我公司laptop 上直到今年不得不换时才随着旧电脑一起退休，但那份热度一直珍藏在我心底。你热爱排球，每年夏季总是热情地组织部门球队参赛，队长的你在球场煞爽风姿。同是校球队出生的我觉得好难得在工作中能遇见有类似经历的朋友。对你坚持自己的爱好不忘初心从心底里欣赏，每每特别开心听你讲述球场上的故事。短短几年从陌生人到相识相知，你是我遇到过的无比坚强和独立的女生，你处事冷静，不爱给朋友添麻烦。在过去将近一年半年里你独自勇敢地和病魔斗争，在朋友面前却从来都是以乐观的一面示人，但其中的艰辛不言而喻。你的坚强让我从来不愿去多想真会有这么一天的到来，总是相信会有奇迹发生。而今你香消玉殒，让我难以接受。唯一的念想是你在天国不用再受病魔痛苦，可以开心享受新的朋友和生活。谢谢你曾给我们带来的温暖和美好，永远想念你！"  - Xi Pan

"You will be greatly missed, my dear friend Minyu.

I miss the time we spend together. I don't know how you did that, but you have the trick to put a smile on my face with your unique humor. The kind word you shared will stay with me forever. 

I miss the volleyball games we played together in the hot summer near the Discover parking lot. You are such a great player and a great team captain. You always cheer us up and lead us to fight till the last minute. 

I remember one time, you and I followed the same Chinese drama. I couldn’t keep myself from binge-watching and finished it all in 3days. You said, ’No, No, No, this is such a wonderful gift given to us. My strategy is to enjoy it fully. I will watch only one episode a day'. With my amazement, that is exactly what you did for the next one and half months - thoroughly and slowly enjoying it! This is so Minyu. You reminded me to slow down and enjoy small things in my ordinary life. Thank you, my friend! 

I will miss you forever."  - Jinghua Cao

"不能忘记你在排球场的英姿，不能忘记你贪吃的俊俏的脸庞，不能忘记你豪爽大气的性格及小女人的心细！万分的不舍你的离开！愿天堂能有排球可打，愿天堂没有病痛！"  - 夏虹

"The first time I met Minyu was when I started managing the Fair Lending Statistical Testing team and what amazed me the most is her desire to learn and always dig deeper for a better understanding in everything she was doing.  As we worked together and I got to know Minyu, I came to appreciate not only her work ethic, but also her personality.  She always had an optimistic outlook on everything had a great sense of humor, very sarcastic and similar to mine, we would always end our conversations laughing about something. Minyu will be missed!"  - Lana Dontsis

"Minyu was a special person.  She had so many interests, so many questions, and a zest for life.  I met her through my wonderful team as she had a seat right in the middle of them, and so all of us felt as if she was part of us. She was included in many team activities and we learned so much from her.  She will be sorely missed, and she was taken from this earth much too early. May she rest in peace, and may we continue her zest for life and questions in all that we do and honor her memory."  - Michele Sprayregen

"There are some people that every time you think of them, you remember their positive energy and influence. Minyu is certainly one of them. I regret no chance to say goodbye in person. But take comfort in your Rest In Peace. You will be missed. RIP, Minyu!"  - Yujian Li