Qi Lizhe: Be Brave Be Loud

Qi Lizhe

Admitted by the University of Pennsylvania（UPenn）

This summer, Qi Lizhe will continue her study in education at the University of Pennsylvania, which means she is closer to her dream of becoming an English teacher.

“Now I am happy to speak or even talk too much. But if you met me four years ago, I was an introverted girl with a small voice. My body was always stiff during presentation.” This is the self-evaluation of Qi Lizhe herself, but it is really difficult to connect that description with such a graceful and well-spoken girl talking about her personal evolution.

During the freshman year, new students must take specified language courses to standardize their English writing and speaking. In addition to the pronunciation and intonation, the facial expression and action also needs to be integrated into a presentation, to help you look natural. As Qi Lizhe was not good at on-the-spot performance, she would talk with her professors about her ideas before every important presentation. After several drafts, practice drills, and time calculation, she finally would be confident to present without notes. This experience with speaking gave her courage, and she said: “Only you speak, someone is bound to notice you.”

During summer vacation, she went to teach humorous English for pupils in a community as a volunteer and acted as a teacher in a language school. At Wenzhou-Kean University, she is the deputy director of the Animation Club and the director of the Literary Writing Club, as well as organizes a variety of campus activities. During the process of doing all these things, she loves the feeling of independence and enjoys a busy and fulfilling life.

Qi Lizhe said her most difficult period was from the second semester of her junior year to the first semester of her senior year. She described her school life at that time as “crazy’’, as she believed that “Rather die than be ordinary”. She usually got up at 6:30 a.m. every day and rushed to a study location to learn TOFEL or GRE after washing. In the daytime, she would attend class or conduct scientific research with a colleague. She went back to the dormitory after 12:00 midnight every night. In the most difficult two months, she completely gave up Weibo, animation, movie, QQ and WeChat. Finally, she received 108 points in TOFEL and GRE 325+3.5. During this process, the university invited a tutor of TESOL to practice with students, and she gave up the weekend to attend the review class and received a certificate. Later, she passed the examination and received a teaching certificate. Every achievement added sparkle to her resume and the application for postgraduate education.