Today we have the honour of speaking to Ms. Ren Xiaoyang, Class of 2019, who will share her experience at University of Melbourne and University of Pennsylvania.
At the University of Melbourne, I majored in Media & Communication. In addition to the prerequisite courses for my major, the University of Melbourne offers many elective courses for students to choose from, commonly known as the Melbourne model. Among them, elective courses are not limited to arts and sciences but can even be from other departments and professional fields. Since Communication itself is very interdisciplinary major, I took some courses related to psychology and film. Such cross-course selection model expanded my knowledge base in different disciplines and further strengthened my core competitiveness.
Self-directed learning is a particularly important skill. My major usually involves doing a lot of research and writing papers, and most of the time the assignments don’t have much to do with those discussed in class. Therefore, prior to and after each course, I must spend a lot of time reading various materials and academic papers. I usually try to find points of interest in my homework to start with so that writing a paper won’t be so boring. During the pandemic, we mostly did online teaching. At the beginning, it felt very relaxed and in order to keep myself in the right frame of mind for learning, I chose to go to the library or coffee shop to study and kept close communication with professors. Whenever you have a problem that you solve, you must send an email to the teacher as soon as possible to make an appointment for consultation. The problems will become more and more difficult to solve if you tackle them properly from the beginning.
Be sure to strive for resources and seize opportunities for internships. The more you see, the more you feel, and the more you can better address problems and difficulties. I remember trying to find internships and when I first started submitting my resume, I rarely got a reply. Then if I passed the resume filter, I would fail the interview. Although this was very discouraging at first, I keep telling myself to keep going and not give up easily. Finally, I got three internship offers that interested me. At Kunshan TV, I participated in the writing and directing of two feature documentaries and was responsible for writing the program script, conducting interviews, and doing the post-editing. At Youku, I participated in an entire production process of one TV program, and was responsible for a series of pre-recording preparations such as audience selection, as well as on-site management during the program recording, and communicated with various departments to ensure the smooth recording of the program. At VMLY&R, I was mainly involved in the daily online operations of the Adidas brand, analyzing the brand’s competing product information, and customer maintenance. For each internship experience, I applied the theories I learned in school to real workplace scenarios, and constantly had to explore different ways to solve practical, real-life problems. The breadth of experiences and how I dealt with so make clearer the goal for my career path.
Suggestions to Younger Schoolmates
I miss my school days very much and I am very grateful for the unforgettable three years spent in this loving group. Whether in study or life, the teachers in the International Department always gave me timely and patient guidance when I needed help. Through the study of AP courses, I quickly adapted to the level of study required at overseas universities. Here, I met friends who worked together for the dream. And the colorful activities allow me to see more possibilities for myself. It is my hope that the younger students will cherish their study and life in the International Department, make full use of the various platforms provided by the International Department, set clear goals for themselves, learn from excellent people, and continue to work hard. Knowing what you want sooner will save you a lot of time, but it’s also okay if you’re unsure, just make sure to start exploring so you can see what’s really out there in the world.