“Many of us knew Tang as a bright classmate, a true friend and a mentor who always helped others. Your image will forever remain in the minds of your family, friends and all of us today,” Quote from Harvard University Dean Rakesh Khurana.
‘There are no bad people in this world, only complicated people’
Luke Tang was born in 1996 into an educated Chinese-American family. His father, Dr. Wendell Tang, was a pathologist at Ochsner Medical Center and earned his doctorate from the University of Hawaii. Mom works as an accountant and is a senior financial analyst at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans. The older brother is a talented musician and studied medicine at Tulane University.
Tang attended Benjamin Franklin High School and was accepted to Harvard University. The boy is always commented by his family, teachers and friends as a talented, obedient and helpful student. In his free time, Luke Tang also teaches violin to underprivileged children in suburban New Orleans and often participates in volunteer work.
Luke Tang is considered a smart guy, excellent at studying and extremely kind.
Tang was also named the New Orleans School District’s Student of the Year, was a semifinalist in the Intel Science Talent Search, and received the prestigious title of U.S. Presidential Scholar, established in 1964. executive order of the President of the United States to recognize and honor some of the country’s most outstanding high school graduating seniors.
Speaking to the graduating seniors of Benjamin Franklin High School, 18-year-old Luke Tang had a message for his classmates.
“There are no bad people in this world, only complicated people. Everyone has a story whether you know it or not. Everyone has the ability to do good and evil.” Tang said.
The message of empathy and trust the young man sent to his high school classmates was also the philosophy that Tang pursued throughout his time at Harvard, according to The Harvard Crimson.
In September 2015, at the age of 18, the young man decided to “free” himself, leaving forever due to depression in Harvard’s dormitory. The news of the talented and kind young man’s death shocked and saddened Luke Tang’s teachers, friends and relatives.
Harvard’s Lowell House dormitory, where Tang lived, held a memorial service in his honor.