Emily Lawrence is a Chinese Language and Culture major from Miami, Fla., who has studied Chinese since the first grade. Even though Chinese was always an integral part of Lawrence’s academic career, it wasn’t until she reflected on her true passions that she was able to confidently declare her major at Wake Forest.
“I am so glad that I [majored in Chinese] because it’s only made me love the Chinese language and culture more,” Lawrence said. “Originally, I just had no idea what to do. So then I kind of went back to what I enjoyed most, and that was my Chinese classes.”
Lawrence grew up speaking Spanish and English fluently. She cited her bilingualism as a reason that Chinese came naturally to her from a young age.
“I was so used to switching between languages already that to tack on another language that has the same grammatical structure as English was not a problem,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence said that one of the most important attributes she has developed from studying Chinese is her confidence. She attributed much of her personal growth during her time at Wake Forest to the Chinese program, through which she has grown a working proficiency in simplified Mandarin.
“The best way to learn a language is to speak it and I was forced to speak all the time in order to get better,” Lawrence said. “Now I am such a social butterfly and I can’t imagine myself being any other way. I think [Chinese] helped me break out of my comfort zone with shyness.”
She also spoke extensively of her study abroad experience in Beijing, China, reminiscing on the important cultural awareness she gained for a subject to which she already felt deeply connected.
“There are a lot of nuances about Chinese culture that I feel like people in the U.S. wouldn’t expect, and I had to learn that when going there,” Lawrence said. “I had to also learn how to talk about [these differences] appropriately, and I think that really opened my eyes to the importance of being culturally aware of people’s stories and situations, not just in China, but everywhere.”
When asked what she enjoys most about studying Chinese, Lawrence pointed to the community she has built both in China and at Wake Forest.
“I really prioritize my relationships with people, and it’s allowed me to do that with people in a different country and meet so many new people,” she said.
Lawrence also expressed her appreciation for the relationships she has formed within the Chinese department and community at Wake Forest, specifically mentioning Dr. Ziyi Geng, Yu Lao Shi, Dr. Qiong Zhang and the current teaching assistants.
“I think that what makes it so great are the teaching assistants in the Chinese department, the teachers [and] the students,” she said. “We have such a good Chinese community.”
When asked what she has left to learn, Lawrence said she wants to continue expanding her vocabulary, read challenging books in Chinese and further her cultural knowledge.
“I know a lot of tourist history, but I want to know more about what the struggles of Chinese people are,” Lawrence said. “What do they struggle with on the daily? How do they feel about their government? How do they feel about other countries? What is something that they want to change if they could?”
After graduating from Wake Forest, Lawrence plans on attending law school. She added that in the future, she hopes to not grow up too fast, continue trying new things and lean on her Catholic faith for guidance.
“I’m excited for life beyond Wake Forest,” Lawrence said. “I love Wake Forest, I love the community, but after going abroad, that opened my eyes to the idea that there’s a world beyond this campus, and I think this campus is the best one to prepare us for that world.”
