Mei Lai, also known as Sybil, is an alumna of Wenzhou-Kean University and was a part of the Inaugural Commencement Ceremony in May 2016. She is now a graduate student at Teachers College of Columbia University, located in New York, enrolled in the education master’s program.

During her undergraduate years at Wenzhou-Kean University, Lai favored her freshman year, which began her journey through college.

“I felt our class relationship was really strong. It isn’t like other public universities in China because classes are usually huge,” said Lai. “It was different at Wenzhou-Kean, where there were 20 students in one class. It felt like we were brothers and sisters, which is good because we all became such good friends. Even after graduation, we all kept close contact.”

Lai recalled a funny moment of her freshman year.

“We didn’t even have a complete campus. We were located only on the fourth floor of a Wenzhou University building,” she recalled. “We only had 200 students, and we all knew of each other. I kind of knew everyone, which is really different because we all just stayed there and pursued a dream for our future and the development of the school.”

Lai pointed out that since the school was just being established at that point, it was good that with her peers, they all grouped and grew together. As a former student of Wenzhou-Kean University, she felt the atmosphere was really good for academic study and daily life.

“Students are working hard and they have dreams,” she said. “We had lots of choices after entering into the university without our parents’ control, but most students chose to continuously develop themselves rather than indulge in playing games. They actively organized lectures and activities. Since we were the first group of students, no one guided us, but everyone put their energy to contribute to the school. I feel that was really good.”

In addition to the students being self-efficient, Sybil pointed out that the students were cooperative and they cared about each other.

“I do not think I could have had such a kind campus life if I were in any other university. Wenzhou-Kean is special,” Lai said.

Graduation is a mix of happy and sad feelings because everyone is finished with their undergraduate education, but all the friends and memories made will be part of the previous chapter.

“Before going to Columbia University, I was offered admission by four different universities. Columbia University is very well known in China because it is in New York,” she pointed out. “New York is a very active and energetic city, so I chose to go there.”

She felt Columbia University was full of diversity and good resources in careers. In addition, the New York location for her was full of opportunities and jobs. Lai specifically chose international educational development to study because she felt it was relative to her background.

“I came from an American-Chinese institution, so it was really international. For my future career, I want to work in a similar institution, with a lot of diversity. That’s why I chose to learn more about international education,” says Lai. “I want to see the different educational systems in other countries,” she explained.

Lai has plans to enter the education system as a professional, this time around to educate others.

“In the future, I may prefer to work as administration in schools, so I need to study a lot about policies and systems. So, this major helps me prepare for the different school systems...”

In May 2018, Lai expects to finish her graduate chapter at Columbia University.

“This program has benefits towards my career in the future,” said Lai. “My goal for school is ordinary, just to finish my study next year and experience different things for my academics. Moreover, I can go outside to see how people with different backgrounds treat things variously.”

She said she chose to continue education because it is her goal to learn even more in the years after Wenzhou-Kean. By receiving a master’s degree, she believes it can make her more competitive in society. She hopes she can find her life goal through continuing her studies, because she just wants to see how people live their lives in different ways.

Lai will try many things because as a curious student, she will be attending different lectures and taking courses she is interested in. Eventually, she will be applying her experiences in her future classroom and school.