Jeremy Lin vs. Mark Zuckerberg? Please.

A post on the Harvard Political Review yesterday noted the irony that two of the school’s most well known recent graduates both found their success outside of traditional career paths. What’s more, they’re diametrically opposed when it comes to humility. Up-and-comer Knicks star Jeremy Lin, known for his gracious presence and fabulous moves on the court, has been dubbed the “humble hero from Harvard.” In contrast, Facebook mogul Mark Zuckerberg is known for his rather ruthless persona and generally not being a team player. He has arrogance in abundance. Therein lies the moral dilemma:

This titanic contrast is important because it’s evident that undergraduates are confused as to whether the Jeremy or Mark model best fits the Harvard student.

The post points to a recent set of dueling memes (who doesn’t love a good dueling meme?) Harvard Good Guy and the Harvard Douchebag as an indicator that Harvard students aren’t really sure who they should emulate. And it says that the Class of 2014, when polled, ranked “hard work, honesty, respect, and compassion” as their top four personal values — very Lin-like — while they said ranked “success” as Harvard’s foremost value. Inner turmoil ensues:

Therefore, individually, we see ourselves as more like Jeremy, though in the context of Harvard, we think we need to be more like Mark.

Now, while I’m a massive fan of a good internet meme (and it seems that the douchebag meme is obviously the funnier of the two) do we really need to stress over this? Surely Harvard students, who have excelled at so much in their lives, should be comfortable enough with the concept of defining their own success. [via BostInno]