Yuqi Li：Interest is the Best Instructor
Yuqi Li
- DHSZ Class of 2017
- Master’s student, Strategic Communication at Columbia University, USA
- BA Communications, University of Connecticut, USA
Dulwich Life
Yuqi was a four-year student at DHSZ, and her two favourite subjects were Economics and Drama. "I had a lot of fun studying Economics, probably because I could learn it very well and gained a great sense of confidence from the results. Although I majored in Communications at university, I also took several economics courses."
Yuqi recalled that when DHSZ moved to the new campus in 2015, they had a dedicated classroom for drama classes, which created better conditions for them to study acting. "At that time, we only had one drama class a week, which was far from enough for me as a drama fanatic. Not only did I enjoy acting on my own, but I also enjoyed watching other students perform, and I could learn just as much." Yuqi told us at DHSZ, there are many opportunities to participate in and watch performances outside class and in the classroom. The most significant event is the Shakespeare Festival, an annual theatre festival organized and attended by all Dulwich schools and held at one Dulwich campus each year. As well as performances from each school, the festival invites experts in theatre performance to coach the actors and actresses in rehearsals.
"During my four years at Dulwich, I developed a keen interest in theatre and went to Broadway shows since I came to New York. This experience has not only given me great memories but has also played a vital role in my personal growth."
Transferrable Skills
For Yuqi, transferrable skills developed in high school include cooperation, communication, independent living, time management, and English language skills.
She was a boarder in high school, and boarding taught her to take care of herself and live in harmony with her roommates. For her, the strong friendship formed during this experience was invaluable, and she is still good friends with her high school roommates. At the same time, the dormitory management in high school had stringent rules and time control. Living in this environment for four years, she developed very regular work and study habits, which helped her quickly adapt to university life.
In addition to Yuqi's love of theatre in high school, she also enjoyed being involved in club activities, most notably organising the annual Dulwich Treasure Hunt and the Video Challenge competition. Whether performing or organising events, she had to work with other students. For her, the biggest challenge was overcoming her stereotypes and being inclusive and compromising so that even when faced with people she didn't know or even like, she could convince herself to step out of her comfort zone and efficiently complete the team's tasks and achieve the goals. In addition, she was also responsible for communicating with external school leaders when organising events, and this experience was also invaluable for high school students.
University Life and Challenges
Yuqi studied Communications at the University of Connecticut as an undergraduate, and her passion lies in digital media. Part of her studies in college consisted of researching current social media platforms, learning to write news, photography, and videography, and conducting street interviews. In addition, to improve her career skills, she took internships during the summer breaks and did two internships in total, which helped clarify her career direction.
As she did not enter her major in the first year, she had a lot of flexibility in choosing her courses, and she took courses in different disciplines to try out as much content as possible that she had not been exposed to before. She also took drama and economics as a result of the interests she developed in high school.
In general, the courses in her first year were relatively easy, especially the economics course, where a lot of what she had learned in high school was taught, and she often felt that she had "too much time on hands" and was "frantically" looking for things to do. She joined the Chinese Students' Association at school and made some friends, which helped her adapt to the new environment as soon as possible. When she came to study in the US, she had to integrate into the local environment and culture. "I couldn't just hang out with friends from my own country, so I joined the university's student TV station, where I was responsible for writing texts and editing videos. The variety of club activities kept me busy, and my life became more fulfilling," she said.
As Yuqi entered her second year, she started to study her major and became very busy as she planned to graduate a year early and needed to complete three credits in two years. "Thanks to the time management skills I had previously developed, I could cope with the heavy academic load and lived each day to the fullest, but with regrets. Looking back on my undergraduate experience now, I can see that I still missed out on many opportunities. But life is not meant to be perfect, and the flaws make it more interesting."
Career Plans
After Yuqi postgraduate studies, she plans to work in a PR or marketing-related field. She is also currently doing an internship to gain more work experience and improve her competitiveness in the workplace.
Advice
"Live in the moment, take advantage of the opportunities available to you as much as possible and be brave enough to try out activities that interest you. One of my minor regrets in high school was that I never performed in the annual Shakespeare Festival. I spent most of my time participating in the Video Challenge competition and other events, and preparing for exams, thinking, "there's still plenty of time, and I can perform next year." Still, I didn't realise how quickly the four years of high school would end, and I rarely had the opportunities to be involved in theatre in high school once I entered university. I have some regrets about missing out on some great opportunities at university too, and if I had the chance to do it all over again, I would have done better."
