Robert Gao

Hometown: Champaign-Urbana, Illinois

Major: English and Creative Writing (Medical Humanities Minor) on the pre-medical track!

Position: Tennis

Three things I love to do: Playing night tennis at the Taube Center, coasting nearby cities, eating hot pot in Cupertino :)

I could talk all day about: Pickleball, the Midwest, creative writing and medicine, skincare, contemporary poetry, a little bit of fashion, and the Premier League

I would love to connect with guests about: Medicine, startups and entrepreneurship, writing/literature, neurotech, biotech investing, research

Biosketch: Though most would guess Vancouver, New York City, or straight from the motherland of Shanghai, Robert Gao (he/him) ('29) grew up in the cornfields that surround the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. At Stanford, Robert studies English and Creative Writing on the pre-medical track and is involved with Stanford APAMSA, Math Tournament, and Club Pickleball/Swimming. Outside, you can only find him at the dining hall, tennis courts, dorm piano, or the gym—he will never be anywhere else.

Though initially a mathematics enthusiast, Robert fell in love with creative writing during his sophomore year of high school. Now drawn to anything people-facing, Robert looks to explore both the internal world—consciousness, conversation, what it means to be human—and the physical; the body’s physiology and the technology that touches it.

Robert believes that writing and practicing first begins with the human connection, which is why he cannot wait to meet you. He cannot wait to ask you thought-provoking questions during a spikeball match, guide you through all-things tennis at Camp, and learn from you (and learn, and learn)!