Two Spartan alums preparing to graduate from Stanford University with highest academic honors invited their most inspirational St. Stephen’s teachers to a campus awards reception in Stanford, California.

Weeks before they graduate from Stanford University in the top 25, Linda Liu ’21 and Carson Murtuza-Lanier ’21 had the unique opportunity to honor and thank the teachers who made the biggest impact on their educational journey. Those same teachers also had the honor of reciprocating the gratitude.

Liu, a political science major, and Murtuza-Lanier, a mathematics major, each earned the J.E. Wallace Sterling Award for Scholastic Achievement, an award that recognizes the top 25 graduating seniors in Stanford’s School of Humanities and Sciences. The prestigious award, named after a former university president known for hiring top scholars to attract the best students in the country, is one of Stanford’s most selective recognitions of a student's overall academic performance. 

When Liu and Murtuza-Lanier learned they would be receiving the award, they were told to invite two teachers to a special luncheon who had the greatest impact on their academic success: their most influential secondary school teacher and their most influential Stanford academic advisor or other Stanford faculty or staff member. Carson invited longtime and beloved St. Stephen’s Upper School physics instructor Dr. Frank Mikan, and Liu called Middle School culture and governance instructor Jin Chung.

“Mr. Chung was the first person I thought of,” said Liu, who arrived at St. Stephen’s as an 8th grade boarding student from Beijing, China. She says Chung, who was her teacher and advisor, helped set her up for success on The Hill and beyond.

“He really gave me a lot of guidance on how to make the most out of boarding school, and he was there throughout my high school years.”

Because Chung is a residential faculty member who lives on campus and serves as a dorm parent, he was able to interact with Liu outside the normal school day — in the dining hall at dinner and at boarding student activities and events. Over the years, he watched Liu grow up on The Hill.

Chung says he was shocked when Liu called him out of the blue to extend the awards luncheon invitation, and accepted without hesitation.

“There's so many great Upper School teachers [at St. Stephen’s] and Middle School teachers,” said Chung. “It's a great testament to our school.”

Chung describes Liu as a quiet student who never drew attention to herself, and had a true talent at an early age expressing herself and speaking up through her writing. He saw leadership potential, and would find moments to encourage her to grow outside of her comfort zone.

“I remember specifically pulling her aside early and I said “you need to be a [dorm] proctor,” said Chung. “Over the years, I thought I was the only one that saw that in her, but later on I realized everybody did.” 

Dr. Mikan says he was not the least bit surprised when Murtuza-Lanier reached out to share the news about his incredible academic performance at Stanford, and says he has always possessed “remarkable” qualities including innate brilliance, an ability to produce excellent work and an exceptional attitude about learning. His probing questions in class went way beyond what Mikan expected. Murtuza-Lanier is the son of Middle School Interim Dean of Students Miriam Murtuza and PIRL Director and Upper School robotics instructor Troy Lanier.

“He wasn’t so interested in what would be on a test or even his grades,” said Mikan. “He was definitely deeply committed to finding out as much as he could on topics that piqued his interest,” said Mikan.

With a full Upper School course schedule, Murtuza-Lanier was eager to learn more about geology. Even though he was not technically enrolled in the class and would receive no official credit, he attended Mikan’s geology class everyday, completed every assignment, participated in discussions and earned one of the best grades “just because he couldn’t resist learning more about the world around him.”

Stanford flew teachers from all over the world to California for the luncheon, which took place the weekend before Easter.

When it was time for each student to be recognized, their honorary Stanford educator started the remarks by introducing their honored student. The student then said a few words about their two guests of honor, and later passed the microphone to the secondary teacher — or in Chung’s case, the Middle School teacher. Chung said it was a deeply moving experience.

"Throughout the ceremony, I kept thinking how fortunate we are to work with such vibrant and engaging young people every day at St. Stephen's,” said Chung. “It also says great things about our faculty and staff that one small school produced two students receiving this award."

Dr. Mikan was unable to attend the luncheon, but sent remarks about Murtuza-Lanier which were read by the college dean.

“It would be great if you choose a scientific one since we really need bright, capable folks like you to figure out how this wonderful but mysterious universe works,” wrote Mikan. “Your future looks bright as a supernova and the world will be a better place because of you. I wish you the best in all of your future adventures.”

Following the luncheon, Liu gave Chung a tour of the Stanford campus and he learned that she was an integral part of the campus newspaper staff all four years. She was elected as the editor-in-chief of the Stanford Daily her senior year, after running a successful and highly competitive campaign. 

Liu says it would take all day to explain how Chung and countless other St. Stephen’s teachers taught her to strive for excellence and develop a habit of really trying to understand the class materials. She and Murtuza-Lanier have also been busy pursuing a coterminal master’s degree in computer science, a Stanford program that enables undergraduates to take classes toward the higher degree. They will continue on that path following their graduation ceremony in June.

“It’s rewarding to see both grow as thinkers and as leaders at our school,” said Chung. “Their lives are living examples of our school mission statement in action.”

View the full list of 2025 Sterling Award recipients and honored instructors