Li Yixian, a senior Applied Translation Studies (ATS) student, said her dream came true due to knowing and recognising herself at UIC. She has been admitted for a MA in Translation and Culture at University College London (UCL) in the UK.
Yixian has won the First Class Award twice at UIC and found herself entering the National Interpreting Contest (English). She also discovered her interests and capabilities through trying new things constantly.
Li Yixian
Breakthrough self-limitation
In her second semester, Yixian served as a volunteer in the UIC open day and was responsible for representing prospective student and parent visitors. She still remembered her words for a parent who complained about her academically challenged child. The child was a freshman in high school; Yixan told the child's parent that the child had "unlimited possibilities". Later, these words stayed in Yixian's mind, reminding herself of her "unlimited possibilities" as a first-year undergraduate.
Yixian said that UIC's liberal arts education and whole person education has allowed her to cultivate critical thinking skills and build a comprehensive knowledge system. In addition, group projects and presentations Yixian has brought her the most training and made her more assertive and determined.
Besides, Yixian enrolled in the interpreting courses, which improved her public speaking skills and self-confidence. During the interpreting learning process, she booked UIC's Simultaneous Interpretation Lab for interpreting practices in her spare time. She also attended an off-campus camp for interpreting training during the vacation.
Later, Yixian achieved the Excellent Prize in the Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan region for the 9th National Interpreting Contest. She also earned the Excellent Award for the Southern China region at the 8th Cross-Strait Interpreting Competition.
Gain from experience
Yixian has broadened her horizons from international opportunities provided by UIC, participating in a 21-day summer programme at the University of Westminster in London during her first summer vacation.
Li Yixian in London for a summer programme
Yixian attended business competitions in New York and Boston during the sophomore winter vacation, stepping into a new field for the first time. She said that students majoring in translation should break the limitations and know something about everything.
Yixian devoted her heart to every brand new moment at UIC, always with gains and perception. For example, she attended her first high table dinner, from which she was pleasantly surprised by the sense of ritual. She also learned about self-awareness in the emotional intelligence course.
Li Yixian in the US
Since many say that translators will be replaced by artificial intelligence, Yixian wanted to determine whether or not machines would take humankind's place through further studies at interpreting, computer-aided translation (CAT), artificial intelligence, and audio-visual translation.
Li Yixian has broken through self-limitation and gained from every new experience. She hopes to keep the sense of freshness toward life and move forward with constant exploration.
Reporter: Du Jiewen
Editors: Samuel Burgess, Deen He, Zhang Fan
