Nothing lonely about this long distance runner
This is one in a series of profiles showcasing some of Harvard’s stellar graduates. Liz Roux lives by the codes of optimism and resiliency. They have guided her through childhood tragedies and toward a career in medicine, helped her build new communities, and inspired her to reimagine her idea of home. Roux was born in China and abandoned as an infant. She was adopted from an orphanage and her family of two — she and her American mother — was tight-knit and adventurous from the start. Growing up in southwest Florida near the Gulf of Mexico, Ten Thousand Islands, and Everglades National Park, they spent their days exploring the region’s natural beauty and feeding Roux’s endless curiosity. “Whenever we went somewhere, I was always asking, ‘why are we walking? Why don’t we run?’” said Roux. “She definitely wanted me to channel my energy into something directed.” Roux found that direction in seventh grade, when...