Azia Kim was like any other Stanford freshman. She graduated from one of California’s most competitive high schools last June, moved into the dorms during New Student Orientation, talked about upcoming tests and spent her free time with friends.The comment thread under the article references the Godelia case at Harvard earlier this year. There are certainly some similarities: Both Kim and Godelia wanted to be regarded as students at the country's most exclusive colleges. Both were successful at doing so for long periods of time. Both gained access to restricted facilities including undergraduate dormitories and dining halls.
Azia Kim allegedly climbed through this first-floor window in Okada to sleep during spring quarter. The 18-year-old was evicted after her ruse was uncovered Monday night.
The only problem is that Azia Kim was never a Stanford student.
Kim, an 18-year-old from Orange County who graduated from Fullerton’s Troy High School, lived in Kimball throughout fall and winter quarter. She lived in Okada, the Asian-American theme dorm, until Monday night, when University staff finally caught onto her ruse.
Friends aren’t sure of her motive for sneaking onto campus and living a lie, but many speculate that she felt pressure from overbearing parents to attend Stanford — regardless of whether she was admitted.
But there are some notable differences as well. Godelia was more than 10 years older than a typical College undergraduate, while Kim fit in in terms of her age relative to other Stanford freshmen. Godelia had a Harvard affiliation -- he had once been an Extension School student, while Kim did not have any current or previous Stanford academic or employment record. Godelia had a criminal past. While attending Baylor in the 1990s, he had been arrested by Baylor police for trespassing, sexual assault, and burglary. Kim apparently had no criminal record. Godelia was also very public with his attempts to associate himself with the Harvard College undergraduate community by taking part in various College-oriented activities, hanging out at undergraduate dormitories, and crashing classes, as described in this Harvard Crimson article. Kim tried to keep a low profile -- the Stanford Daily article does not mention her taking part in any clubs, although she did make friends in the Stanford dormitories and pretended to study for exams.
There is also the issue of motive: While both wanted to be regarded as undergraduates at these two elite programs, the Stanford Daily article suggests Kim was motivated by family pressure. Godelia seemed to seek recognition or validation from the Harvard community itself.
Other top-ranked colleges and universities have uncovered similar frauds. In the mid-1990s, Yale accepted into a graduate program a student named Tonica Tonise Jenkins who had forged a transcript from an Ohio community college. Serial con man James Hogue pulled a similar trick at Princeton in the 1980s, gaining entrance as "Alexi Indris Santana" after claiming to an orphan from Utah (he also has an interesting Harvard connection, as described in the answers.com page). Both Jenkins and Hogue are serving time for far more serious crimes committed after they were expelled from their respective programs.
One thing that's worth mentioning about these cases is that they all involve people who were caught. How many others have never been caught, or have even received degrees, job offers, or status after forging academic documents and lying about their pasts?
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