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Raven

Dear Frank Li,

Thank you so much for meeting with me and my UW classmates after a long day of work! I found your job description very interesting and I could tell that you were passionate about civil engineering and the financial work you currently do!

Initially, I was a little nervous to meet you because I am a social work major and I don’t know anything about your area of expertise. However, this was a great opportunity to learn from successful alumni, regardless of their field of study! I soon realized that our difference in career path did not matter because you have so much knowledge of other majors that UW offers. You definitely seem like the kind of person who has friends in different professions. I remember that you mentioned that you enjoy bringing your friends together to discuss issues in China from a variety of perspectives. I was surprised to learn that you know a little bit about social work and the medical field just from these connections with other people that you have established.

You’ve inspired me to look into mentorship once I am an alumnus myself. Currently I work with youth who have been through the juvenile detention system as a social work intern. I feel that I can provide some sort of mentorship in this role and branch out to work with other populations of youth as well. You mentioned that you mentor high school and university Chinese students, and that they always call on you when they need guidance. I hope that I can be this source of guidance in a student’s life as well. As you said, it’s important to have mentors to rely on too, and I am sure that I will always have mentors throughout my life.

I learned many insightful pieces of advice that I will take with me for the rest of my career. For one, you emphasized the importance of emotional intelligence in any field that you go into as well as the value of experience. These two traits truly set you apart from those who focus solely on academic achievement. To be honest, I was surprised to hear this from someone who spent a large portion of their life in the Chinese educational system. I think that Americans have this problematic stereotype that Chinese education does not teach their students emotional intelligence or the value of extra-curricular activities - I also had this stereotype. As our professor, Yu Loashi, put it: “Chinese students are not robots.” Meaning that they also learn the value of service, sports, fun activities, and the ability to communicate empathetically with one another while in school. Your thoughts on success were truly inspirational to me and I am so glad that students have a mentor such as yourself to guide them through the difficult situations life inevitably has in store for them.

Thank you!

Raven


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