Interview with China National Scholarship Winner Fu Yuzhen from Wenzhou-Kean University: Making Every Effort to Get a 4.0 GPA

Fu Yuzhen was busy with her campus journalist work when I first met her, and now she has made a clean sweep of scholarships at the school, provincial and state levels. During her four years at WKU, she manages to get straight A’s in all academic years, focuses on psychological research and keeps making progress. She has currently received offers from the University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, New York University, University College London and the University of Edinburgh. It is the sum of small efforts every day that brings good luck to her, an excellent Psychology student at WKU.

Graduate of 2023: Fu Yuzhen

Major: Psychology

Graduate School: Undetermined

Showing Passion for Academic Research

Academic research is the top priority throughout Fu Yuzhen’s university life. She once attended the 3rd Global Conference on Education and Teaching (GLOBALET), and presented her own papers, as the lead author, at the 5th International Conference on Teaching, Learning and Education (ICTLE). She is also a member of the Psi Chi the Honor Society of Psychology. Her research focus was initially on student engagement and learner-centered instruction. She is also interested in the impact of gender socialization on major selection, as well as the influence of ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) may make on cognitive abilities. Behind the different roles she has played, what remains unchanged is the true nature of a researcher.

Doing research is undoubtedly full of challenges. To prepare herself for her future career in clinical and educational psychology, Fu is working on a meta-analysis of postpartum depression. She has to start from the beginning and overcome unexpected difficulties due to the lack of basis for relevant researches. Faced with a heavy workload of meta-analysis, she needs to select and review over 2,000 articles from the database, and then screen out those qualified papers for further exploration. “I want to thank my professor, Li Qian, and research partner, Jupiter, for all the great help and strong support they offer during my research journey,” said Fu. The road ahead is full of unknowns, but she enjoys the adventure. She keeps exploring different research methods for different projects, and her enthusiasm for academic research is in no way flagging throughout her college years.

Remaining Concentrated in the Front Row

“I prefer short-term goals rather than long-term ones. I do my everyday work more efficiently to achieve weekly goals,” introduced Fu. That is how she learns in her own way. She makes the most of her assignments and classroom study. “I usually take the front seats in class so that I can better interact with the professor,” said Fu. She has found that professors would rather see students think and share values in their assignments instead of simply retelling what they have learned. For Fu Yuzhen, communication with professors is the best catalyst for thinking.

In addition to campus study, Fu also puts knowledge into practice through internships. The most impressive internship for her is the one at the Affiliated Kangning Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University during her third summer vacation. As she was engaged in group therapy and family therapy, she acquired clinical psychotherapy knowledge that was rarely instructed at school. More importantly, she was able to have direct contact with patients. She recalled: “This internship is like a rehearsal, and it gives me a chance to experience a real doctor’s job.” From this experience, Fu makes further academic progress and becomes more determined to pursue a career in psychology.

Gaining Courage and Growth from Student Organizations

The rich experience at student organizations also shapes Fu into what she is today. She once volunteered to assist children with autism through hippotherapy; she became a campus journalist, contributing to WKU’s Student Media and Design Center; she was the head of the radio department of VOK, the campus broadcasting station; she hosted a flea market on a whim as a resident assistant. All these have made her school life more colorful, and this cannot do without the guidance of the teachers and the companionship of her peers.

With a strong sense of belonging, Fu worked hard for the clubs to pay back all the guidance and trust she has gained from the organizations. As the head of the university’s broadcasting station, Fu insists on her belief in recording programs. She stated: “I have always encouraged my team members to produce more recordings and I would join them every time. This is my duty, and furthermore, I want to show my sincerity.” Now in her senior year, she still works behind the scenes for VOK’s recitation contests and dubbing competitions.

Fu Yuzhen has a positive attitude toward learning and life, and she takes both of them seriously. She believes that we become whom we want to be through the small things we do every day. Just do good deeds regardless of where it leads you. That is how Fu harvests good luck from every small effort she has made at university.